Mumbai civic body election to be held January 15; counting on January 16

Elections will be held for 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils, and 336 panchayat samitis.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election will held on January 15. The results will be announced on January 16.

Elections will be held for 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils, and 336 panchayat samitis. The last polls for the 227 seats were held in February 2017.

Here is the complete schedule.

Nomination filing: December 23 to 30

Scrutiny: December 31

Withdrawal: January 2, 2026

Final list of candidate and distribution of symbols: January 3, 2026

Voting: January 15, 2026

Counting: January 16, 2026.

This is the first BMC election after the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena and a direct contest with the Eknath Shinde-led faction, which is part of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. After 20 years the Thackeray brothers, Uddhav  and Raj, have come together following a row over Hindi imposition in the state and have vowed to contest the BMC polls together.

In 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena won 84 seats while the BJP won 82 seats. The Congress had won 31 seats while the United NCP secured 13 seats. Raj Thackeray's MNS had won seven seats.

The Supreme Court of India had directed the State Election Commission to complete all local body elections by January 31, 2026, as the elections have been due since 2022.

The estimated budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the year 2025-26 is Rs 74,427 crore, and the expenditure stands at Rs 43,162 crore, representing 58 per cent of the total budget allocated to development projects. This gigantic budget is unmatched by any other state or municipal corporation in the country, cementing the BMC's status as Asia's wealthiest civic body.

Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and as its key governing body, the BMC manages to oversee Infrastructure to health, roads to water supply, transport to power supply, education to sanitation.