BMC Election Results: In a landmark verdict in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with its ally Shiv Sena, secured control of India’s wealthiest civic body on Friday.
The BJP also emerged as the single-largest party in 19 other municipal corporations across the state, taking the total number of civic bodies where it is poised to elect a mayor to 20. With the backing of its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has secured a majority in 23 of the 29 municipal corporations that went to polls on Thursday.
BMC Election Results: Key Urban Strongholds Fall to BJP-Led Alliance
Among the most significant victories were Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the BJP outperformed its own ally, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Ajit Pawar faction had contested these elections in alliance with the Opposition NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), making the BJP’s performance in these urban centres particularly notable.
The results reflect a marked improvement over the BJP’s performance in the previous civic cycle. Between 2015 and 2018, the party had won 15 municipal corporations. In 2017, when it was allied with the undivided Shiv Sena, the BJP controlled 20 of Maharashtra’s 27 municipal corporations.
BMC ElectionResults: Numbers That Define the Mandate
BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena together comfortably crossed the majority mark of 114.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, retained a substantial footprint in Mumbai with 65 seats. However, this was a decline from the 84 seats won by the undivided Shiv Sena in the 2017 elections, prior to the party’s split in 2022.
How Ravindra Chavan’s Organisational Push Helped BJP
Central to the BJP’s success has been the role of Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan. Observers say his understanding of urban voter behaviour and emphasis on organisational discipline shaped the party’s campaign strategy on the ground.
On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis personally called Chavan to congratulate him as the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti emerged victorious in the civic polls.
When Chavan took charge of the state unit in January last year, he set an ambitious target of enrolling 1.5 crore primary members. Achieving this target ahead of schedule ensured that the party entered the civic elections with a robust organisational base, political analysts say.
Maharashtra BJP President Ravindra Chavan Executed Coordination Between Government and Party Machinery
Analysts say that Ravindra Chavan ensured the coordination in candidate selection, booth-level planning, rally scheduling and identifying opposition vulnerabilities.
Political observers also note that the seamless synchronisation between Chief Minister Fadnavis’s administration and Chavan’s organisational machinery proved to be a decisive factor behind the party’s unprecedented performance across urban Maharashtra.
Throughout the campaign, Ravindra Chavan faced repeated personal attacks from the opposition, targeting everything from his statements to his appearance. Chavan, however, chose not to respond.
How Ravindra Chavan’s Experience and Grassroots Reach Paid Off For BJP in Maharashtra
With more than 25 years in public life, Chavan has steadily evolved through political criticism and challenges. His tenure as Public Works Minister, during which he travelled extensively across Maharashtra, helped him build strong grassroots networks. These connections, forged through development work and sustained engagement, proved crucial during the civic polls, particularly in urban areas where organisational strength often determines electoral outcomes.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
