Thane Municipal Corporation Election 2026 Results Live: Shinde’s Sena tops Mahayuti winners list

Fresh trends from Navi Mumbai are reinforcing the Mahayuti’s advantage, even as the headline battle remains largely between the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

As per the latest updates, the BJP is leading in nearly 67 seats, giving it a commanding edge in the civic race. Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) follows with 41 seats, keeping the alliance’s overall tally strong but well behind the BJP’s pace.

The opposition presence remains thin in the early picture: Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have secured one seat each so far, as counting continues.

Thane’s vote count is beginning to take a clearer shape, with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena widening its advantage as more rounds come in from counting centres.

As per the latest trends, Shinde’s Sena is leading in 24 seats, far ahead of the BJP, which is in second place but remains in single digits. Both NCP factions are also showing pockets of strength, tied at four leads each.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has opened a clear early lead in the Thane municipal corporation elections, staying ahead of the pack as counting progressed through the afternoon.

As of 2 pm, Shinde’s Sena was leading in 16 seats, putting distance between itself and rivals, all of whom remained stuck in single digits.

Latest trends from Thane (2 pm)

Shiv Sena (Shinde): 16

AIMIM: 5

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction): 4

NCP (Ajit Pawar faction): 3

BJP: 2

Early trends from Navi Mumbai are showing a lopsided race, with the BJP opening a big lead as counting progresses.

As per the latest numbers, BJP is leading in 74 seats, while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is ahead in 30. In contrast, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena is leading in just 2 seats, a sharp marker of how the opposition bloc is struggling to keep pace in the initial rounds.

Current leads (Navi Mumbai)

BJP: 74

Shiv Sena (Shinde): 30

Shiv Sena (UBT): 2

The Mahayuti combine has tightened its grip on the Thane municipal corporation elections, with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena emerging as the biggest winner so far.

In the latest declared results, 11 Shiv Sena leaders have won, underlining the faction’s organisational strength in the city even as the broader alliance consolidates control.

Winner tally (Thane)

Shiv Sena (Shinde): 11

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction): 5

Congress: 3

AIMIM: 3

Counting and result announcements are continuing.

Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena is leading in 24 seats. Meanwhile, the BJP is ahead in 15 seats.

Early trends from the Thane civic poll count show the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leading the race, with the BJP in second place as results trickle in from counting centres. Shinde’s Sena was ahead in 20 seats, while the BJP led in 15; other parties, including both NCP factions and Congress, were also showing early leads.

In Thane, Eknath Shinde’s stronghold, Shiv Sena was leading in nine of the 131 wards, ahead of ally BJP which was ahead in six wards, TV channels reported.

Exit polls have predicted a sweep for the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the elections to 29 municipal corporations held on Thursday.

Elections to the 29 municipal corporations were held after a gap of several years, with terms of most of them having ended between 2020 and 2023. Of these, nine fall in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the most urbanised belt in India.

The BJP and Shiv Sena alliance has taken a massive lead in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections with the Eknath Shinde-led party leading in 20 seats. BJP has also established solid gains with party candidates ahead in 10 seats. However, the alliance led by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray is trailing far behind.

BJP-10

Shiv Sena-20

NCP- 1

Congress-1

NCP SP-2

Shiv Sena UBT-3

MNS-1

0thers-1

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the election commission on January 16, saying the poll body is gaslighting citizens.

"Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act," Gandhi said in a post on X.

Thane Municipal Corporation Election 2026 Results Live: Udhhav Thackeray should change his script writer, says Shiv Sena leader

On Maharashtra civic body elections, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC says, "The exit polls are just a trailer, the results will be out in 2 hours. The public has decided the mandate for 29 Municipal Corporations on the basis of development and Eknath Shinde's work of progress..."

She also says, "Udhhav Thackeray should change his script writer and find some other excuse... The verdict of loss and win is decided by the public. The message is that the opportunity belongs to those who work on ground and those who work from home are made to stay at home..."

On #BMCElections Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut says, "The voting pattern that has been going on in a city like Mumbai is a serious matter. Names of thousands of people, who have even voted in the Assembly elections, are missing in areas where Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS or Congress... The EVM machine does not work properly... The Election Commission is not ready to listen to us. Yesterday, a meeting was held between the senior BJP leaders and the Election Commission staff, why? The Code of Conduct is still in place..."

He also says, "The exit polls arrived even before the voting percentage... The BJP started celebrating its victory... We have assured the people not to be afraid..."

Thane Municipal Corporation is witnessing a close contest in early counting with the BJP leading in 10 seats and Shiv Sena in 12 seats. On the other hand, Shiv Sena UBT was leading in 8 seats and its alliance partner MNS leading in 10 seats so far. NCP and NCP-SP were leading in three seats each.

Supporters of two candidates clashed during the civic polls in Thane on Thursday, prompting the police to intervene, an official said on Friday.

High drama erupted in ward number 3 in the Manpada area on Thursday evening after a confrontation between supporters of former mayor Meenakshi Shinde, the official Shiv Sena nominee, and independent candidate Bhushan Bhoir (a Shiv Sena rebel).

Meenakshi Shinde alleged that Bhoir had mobilised armed persons to incite violence. Bhoir’s camp, however, accused Shinde’s group of throwing chilli powder in their candidate’s eyes.

The situation escalated when a bus carrying ballot boxes was intercepted by protesters, leading to attempts to vandalise vehicles.

Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had already secured a lead in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections as seven of its candidates won their respective seats unopposed.

The seven candidates were declared winners even before a single vote was cast after opposition and other independent candidates either withdrew their or had their nominations rejected by the state election commission.

Polling for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in the 29 civic bodies began at 7.30 am and concluded at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters were eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.

Except for Mumbai, the 28 other urban bodies have multi-member wards. Vote count will begin at 10 am on January 16.

The BMC elections faced significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Supreme Court rulings on OBC reservations, and issues related to ward delimitation.

The last BMC polls were held in 2017. The term of the corporators ended on 7 March 2022, and subsequent elections could not be held in time, resulting in the civic body being placed under an administrator.

As voting commenced Thursday morning, social media was flooded with videos of ordinary voters, politicians, and some mediapersons using Acetone to wipe off the ‘indelible’ ink on their fingers after voting.

The State Election Commission, however, rejected the allegations and warned of acting against those propagating such claims.

Around 50 per cent polling was recorded in Mumbai and 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra on Thursday, amid a major controversy over claims that the ink applied on voters' fingers could be easily removed.

Speaking shortly after voting ended at 5.30 pm, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the turnout in the 29 civic bodies was in the 46-50 per cent range. The exact polling figures will be declared later, another official said.

In the 2017 elections, the polling percentage in Mumbai was 55.53, while the average voting figure in 26 corporations - elections were held for the first time in Jalna and Ichalkaranji municipal corporations – was 56.35 per cent.

On Thursday, the spotlight was on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance was locked in an intense battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins for control of India's largest and richest civic body.

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose annual budget is over Rs 74, 400 crore, there were 1,700 candidates in the arena for 227 seats in the elections held after nine years, after a four-year delay.

More than 25,000 police personnel were deployed across Mumbai to oversee elections.

The previous elections to the Thane Municipal Corporation were held on February 21, 2017, with the undivided Shiv Sena emerging as the single largest party, winning 67 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party followed with 34 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 23. The Indian National Congress won three seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen two, with two Independents also making it to the civic body. The next TMC election is scheduled for January 15, 2026, and vote counting will take place on January 16.

The fate of Thane Municipal corporation and the residents of Thane city will be decided today as the counting of votes is set to begin at 10 am. The votes were polled on January 15, along with several other corporations across Maharashtra.