BMC Elections 2026: Check voting date, time, results and poll schedule

BMC polls 2026: The BMC elections will be held in a single phase and will take place alongside polls to 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra

Mumbai is finally set to return to elected civic governance after nearly three years, with the State Election Commission (SEC) announcing the full timetable for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

 

The BMC elections will be held in a single phase and will take place alongside polls to 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra.

 

BMC polls: Voting date, time and results

 

The election process officially began with the SEC notification issued on December 15, 2025. Voting for all 227 wards of Greater Mumbai will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026.

 

Polling booths will remain open from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm. To ensure higher voter participation, January 15 has been declared a public holiday in all municipal corporation areas where elections are being held.

 

 

Vote counting will begin at 10 am on Friday (January 16), and results are expected to be declared by the end of the same day.

 

Model Code of Conduct in force

 

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect immediately after the SEC announced the election schedule on December 15. It will remain in force until the completion of the counting process on January 16.

 

BMC elections: Total seats and majority mark

 

The BMC has 227 seats, with each ward electing one corporator. A party or alliance will need 114 seats to secure a simple majority and form the civic body.

 

As many as 92 wards fall under the General category, meaning they have no reservations. These wards are spread across south Mumbai, the western suburbs and parts of central Mumbai.     

 

BMC polls: Key nomination and campaign dates

 

The nomination process for candidates began on December 23, 2025 and ended on December 30. Scrutiny of nomination papers was completed on December 31.

 

The last date for withdrawal of candidature was January 2, and the final list of contesting candidates was published on January 3.

 

Voter strength in Mumbai

 

According to news agency PTI, around 10.3 million voters are eligible to vote in the BMC elections. This includes 5.52 million male voters, 4.83 million female voters and 1,099 voters registered under the ‘Other’ category.

 

BMC elections: Total candidates in fray

 

BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said that nearly 1,700 candidates are contesting the elections across all 227 wards. He added that the civic administration is fully prepared to conduct the polls smoothly.

 

BMC polls: Mahayuti vs Maha Vikas Aghadi

 

The contest is largely between the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), though several alliance variations are in play.

 

The Mahayuti includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction). The BJP is contesting 136 wards, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has fielded candidates in 89 wards.

 

The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) and the Congress. For the BMC polls, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has tied up with the Shiv Sena (UBT), while the Congress has allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).

 

End of administrator rule in Mumbai

 

The previous civic elections in Mumbai took place in February 2017, and the new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) council was formed on March 8 that year. The five-year term of the elected corporators came to an end on March 7, 2022.

 

The upcoming polls are significant as Mumbai has been without an elected civic body since the previous BMC’s term ended. Since then, the city has been run by administrators.

 

The elections are being conducted following directions from higher courts, which had asked the state to complete all pending local body elections.

 

(With agency inputs)