BMC Elections 2026 Dates: Mumbai Civic Polls To Be Held On Jan 15; Results Next Day
BMC Elections 2026: The civic polls in Mumbai are set to be conducted after a gap of nine years, as the last elections were held back in February 2017.
The elections for the 227 seats of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be held on Jan. 15, 2026, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Monday. The results will emerge the next day, as the counting of votes has been scheduled for Jan. 16.
The nominations can be filed between Dec. 23 and Dec. 30, the SEC officials said in a press briefing in Mumbai, adding that the same will be scrutinised on Dec. 31. The last date for withdrawal is Jan. 2, and the allotment of symbols and publishing of final candidate list is scheduled on Jan. 3.
The civic polls in Mumbai are set to be held after a gap of nine years, as the last elections were held back in February 2017. The delay was on account of an impending row over reservation of seats in local bodies.
In the last BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had emerged as the single-largest party, winning 84 out of the 227 seats. Its then ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had contested separately and registered a sharp jump in its tally from 51 to 82 seats.
Following the polls, the BJP had supported Shiv Sena for the mayoral post. Meanwhile, the Opposition was decimated in the last civic elections, with the Congress reduced to 31 seats—from 51 it won last time—and the then undivided Nationalist Congress Party's tally slipping from 13 to nine.
Ahead of the upcoming polls, the state-ruling Mahayuti coalition has confirmed its alliance for the BMC elections. The coalition, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, will be contesting the civic elections under a pre-poll seat arrangement pact.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi or the main Opposition bloc, however, has so far refrained from joining hands for the local body elections.
Notably, BMC is seen as the country's wealthiest civic body. Its budget size for the financial year 2025-26 is of Rs 74,427 crore, and the estimated expenditure stands at Rs 43,162 crore.
