The results of Maharashtra municipal corporation elections have set the mood for the 2029 elections, firmly pitching the BJP as the single largest and the strongest party in the State. By winning 1,372 of 2,784 seats, and by trumping allies and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde in key constituencies, it has shown how it will likely dominate the Mahayuti government for the next three years.
Congress has emerged as the biggest Opposition party in rest of Maharashtra. But in Mumbai, the most high-stakes battle, Uddhav Thackeray emerged as the principal Opposition by becoming the second largest party after the BJP.
Maharashtra civic election results LIVE updates
The results show the likely power dynamics within the Mahayuti, and also raise questions on the future of the Maha Vikas Aghadi as a collective Opposition front.
The BJP has won four times more seats than the Congress (315), the principal Opposition party in Maharashtra, and thrice that of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena (394), the second largest party. Not only have the results hinted at the power dynamics in the State henceforth, but it has also shown who the primary Opposition party will be in the upcoming polls, painting a bleak future for regional parties such as Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
