The results of the Maharashtra state elections on November 23 will likely lead to elections to the state’s municipal bodies, including the richest, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has been under state rule for over two years.
The BJP-led Mahayuti was leading the election on November 23 as of 1.30 pm, having won three-fourths of the 288 seats.
Also Read: Maharashtra Election Results Live Updates
The municipal bodies were to hold the elections in 2022, but the matter has since been subjudice. The government is challenging the earlier Supreme Court order cancelling the OBC quota in the municipal body.
The government will likely push for early hearings on the case to decide the matter expeditiously.
The BJP was leading in 124 seats, while its partner Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, was leading in 56.
In its previous avatar, Shiv Sena has ruled the body along with the BJP since 1997, with the former being the more significant player.
Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, would be interested in wresting control of the Mumbai body from the Uddhav Thackeray faction. At the same time, it would be a fight for survival for Uddhav Thackeray, having won just 18 of the over 100 seats contested in the state assembly.
Key to finances
Maharashtra’s civic bodies are the richest in the country.
Maharashtra’s municipal corporations budgeted the highest revenue surplus across the country at over Rs 11,000 crore, beating 231 other corporations, underlining their fiscal health and urban governance, according to the RBI report on Municipal Finances.
The states’ bodies are also more self-sufficient than others across the country with a higher and growing share of their own tax revenues and one of the highest per capita expenditures across the country.
An earlier analysis by Moneycontrol found that Maharashtra led the way in expenditure per head, at over Rs 32,000 in FY24, well above the national average of Rs 11,532.
BMC is the crown jewel, having budgeted nearly Rs 60,000 crore in FY25, 10.5 percent higher than the previous year.
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