BMC election results: Mahayuti stays ahead, MVA far behind | Top 10 updates

THe results of the high-stakes civic personify elections in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal corp (BMC), testament be proclaimed today, with voter turnout counting starting at 10 am.The polls, held on January 15, covered 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations and were keenly watched amid shifting political alliances and intense contests in key urban centres. Follow BMC election result LIVEThe State Election Commission started counting votes for all 29 municipal corporations at 10 am on Friday. The exercise comes a day after polling concluded across Maharashtra’s major cities and towns, marking one of the most politically significant civic elections in recent years.Shiv Sena, BJP notch early wins in MumbaiAccording to data accessed by HT, results have been declared in six wards in Mumbai so far as counting continues for the BMC elections. Of these, Shiv Sena has secured three seats, while the BJP has won two. The Congress has registered one victory.Winners declared till 12 pmWard 1 – Rekha Yadav, Shiv SenaWard 51 – Varsha Tembwalkar, Shiv SenaWard 163 – Shaila Lande, Shiv SenaWard 2 – Tejaswini Ghosalkar, BJPWard 214 – Ajit Patil, BJPWard 183 – Asha Kale, CongressBMC election results: Top 10 developmentsWhere trends stand: As of 10.20 am, the BJP was leading in 25 wards across Mumbai, narrowly ahead of the Shiv Sena (UBT), which had taken the lead in 23 wards, according to TV reports. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena was trailing with nine leads, while the Congress was ahead in four wards and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in three.Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused election commission of “gaslighting citizens” over allegations of erasable ink during civic polls in Maharashtra. Sharing a media report, he said that “vote chori” is an anti-national act. “Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act,” Gandhi wrote on X.In Mumbai, counting for the BMC polls will begin at 10 am across 23 designated counting centres. Municipal Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani confirmed the arrangements, saying the process will follow a phased schedule rather than simultaneous counting across all wards.Former rivals Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands after ending their rivalry last June, while Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar contested alongside Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, despite being part of the ruling Mahayuti at the state level. Follow Pune election result 2026 live updatesAs votes are counted, 68 seats in Mumbai’s Marathi-dominated pockets are expected to decide which faction claims the legacy of the Shiv Sena—Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena (UBT) or Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. In the last BMC elections, the undivided Sena won 84 seats and the BJP 82.Ahead of this contest, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said, “Mahayuti is winning major municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nashik, with a comfortable majority,” while playing down Ajit Pawar’s tie-up with Sharad Pawar by stating, “They are contesting together in just two bodies. They have not officially merged. This is more of a local phenomenon.”The civic bodies that voted include Mumbai’s BMC, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji. Follow Maharashtra elections result 2026 livePolling was held from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on Thursday. While final turnout figures are awaited, state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare reportedly said voter turnout across the 29 civic bodies was in the 46–50% range. By 3.30 pm, Kolhapur recorded the highest turnout at 50.85%, followed by Parbhani, Thane, Vasai-Virar and Panvel.During polling, allegations emerged over the use of marker pens or “erasable ink”, with some voters claiming the ink could be wiped off using hand sanitisers. Reacting to the complaints, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Perhaps this is the first election where so many complaints are coming in that the ink applied is coming off immediately. There is collusion between the Election Commission and the ruling party. Many irregularities are happening.”Exit polls released after voting ended predicted an advantage for the BJP-led Mahayuti in the BMC. Most pollsters projected the ruling alliance as the largest bloc, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) in second place and the Congress trailing. JVC projected 138 seats for the BJP alliance, 59 for Shiv Sena (UBT), 23 for Congress and seven for others, while Axis My India estimated 131–151 seats for Mahayuti.