Maharashtra Civic Polls: BJP-Sena Rivalry Takes Center Stage, Results Out Today

Maharashtra Civic Polls: Thackeray, Pawar Reunions Put to the Test as Results Drop Today

The big question in Maharashtra’s 29 municipal corporations is clear: Will the Thackeray reunion click in Mumbai, and can the Pawar family reunion in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad boost their prospects? Counting for the civic polls begins today, and the results will answer these questions.

Where the stakes are highest

Results will be declared for Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Amravati, and other key cities. Several local-level alliances have blurred traditional ideological lines, making these polls a high-stakes test for both the Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde) and MVA (Shiv Sena UBT, NCP, Congress, MNS).

Exit polls signal BJP-Sena dominance in Mumbai

Multiple exit polls, including Axis My India and JVC, predict a clear sweep for the Mahayuti in Mumbai’s 227-seat BMC, projecting a majority well above 114 seats:

Axis My India: 131–151 seats for Mahayuti

JVC: 138 seats for Mahayuti

Opposition (Shiv Sena UBT-MNS-NCP combo): 58–68 (Axis) / 59 (JVC)

Congress-VBA alliance: 12–25 seats

Despite the historic reunion of cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray after two decades, exit polls suggest their “Marathi Pride” campaign may not have overcome the Mahayuti’s momentum.

Outside Mumbai: Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad

Thane: Eknath Shinde’s home turf is expected to remain a Mahayuti stronghold. Exit polls project Shinde’s Sena winning 72 seats and BJP 26. Uddhav-led Sena, MNS, and NCP tried to challenge them but face an uphill battle.

Kalyan-Dombivli: The Mahayuti had already secured six candidates unopposed (4 Sena, 2 BJP) before polling day.

Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad: Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar set aside differences to form a united front. In Pune, the combined NCP is contesting together but faces stiff competition from BJP, which exit polls suggest could emerge as the single largest party with 70–80 seats. In Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar’s faction fielded 110 candidates, supported by Sharad Pawar’s 18 candidates, aiming to protect their 128-member stronghold.

Fragmented alliances and experimental tests

Alliance labels were inconsistent in some areas. For example, in Pune, BJP and Shinde’s Sena contested largely solo after seat-sharing talks failed, while Congress allied with the Thackeray-MNS camp to challenge the Pawars.

The final test

All eyes are on Asia’s richest civic body, the BMC, and 28 other municipal corporations. These results are a litmus test for the Thackeray-Thackeray and Pawar-Pawar reunions, and with Assembly elections just three years away, today’s verdict will shape the political narrative for Maharashtra’s future.