Maharashtra BMC Election 2026 Voting LIVE: There is a high-voltage contest in big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad. A total of 3.48 crore voters will decide the fate of 15,908 candidates for 2,869 seats. 39,092 polling stations have been set up across the state. Voting will start at 7:30 am and continue till 5:30 pm. Counting of votes will take place tomorrow, January 16.
A total of 3.48 crore voters will decide the fate of 15,908 candidates for 2,869 seats.
Digital Desk, New Delhi. Voting is taking place today in 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra. This election is very important for the urban politics of the state, especially on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body, where elections are being held for the first time since last 2017. There is high-voltage competition in big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
A total of 3.48 crore voters will decide the fate of 15,908 candidates for 2,869 seats. 39,092 polling stations have been set up across the state. Voting will start at 7:30 am and continue till 5:30 pm. Counting of votes will take place tomorrow, January 16.
BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) are fighting together in most of the corporations under Mahayuti, but are in separate constituencies in Pune. At the same time, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's MNS have joined hands on the issue of Marathi Manus. The two Thackeray cousins have come together after nearly two decades.
Both the factions of NCP are fighting unitedly in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar have made an agreement to avoid division of votes. In Pune, Shiv Sena (Shinde) has decided to contest the elections alone if a seat-sharing formula is not worked out with the BJP.
Most focus on Mumbai and Pune
Mumbai (BMC) is the richest civic body in the country, with an annual budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore. Here one member will be elected in 227 wards, so each voter will cast only one vote. About 1,700 candidates are in the fray in Mumbai and 1.03 crore voters will cast their votes.
The unity of both the factions of NCP in Pune is a big surprise. This is the first time after the split in 2023 that both the factions have come together. Here too there is a tough fight between Mahayuti and Thackeray faction.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Akshay Kumar arrived to cast their vote.
RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote in Maharashtra municipal elections. In Mumbai, actor Akshay Kumar reached the polling center located at Gandhi Shikshan Bhawan to cast his vote in the BMC elections.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Actor Akshay Kumar arrives at a polling station at Gandhi Shikshan Bhavan to cast his vote for BMC elections. pic.twitter.com/K6kbDrGgAc
39,092 polling stations were created across the state.
39,092 polling stations have been set up across the state for the Maharashtra municipal elections. Voting has started at 7:30 am and will continue till 5:30 pm. The results will be released tomorrow i.e. on 16th January.