Mahayuti Set to Claim Mumbai Mayor’s Post, Says Ramdas Athawale as BMC Trends Favour BJP–Shinde Sena
Mumbai, 16th January 2026: As vote counting continues for municipal elections across Maharashtra, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday asserted that the Mayor of Mumbai will be from the ruling Mahayuti alliance, citing strong trends that place the BJP–Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) in a commanding position in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Speaking to ANI, Athawale said the long-standing political dominance of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai was largely sustained due to his earlier alliances with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Republican Party of India (Athawale). He argued that the current electoral shift reflects the absence of those partnerships.
“Uddhav Thackeray remained in power in Mumbai for 25 to 30 years because of his alliance with the BJP. The RPI(A) had also supported him since 2012. Today, neither the BJP nor the RPI(A) stands with him,” Athawale said.
Commenting on the recent political realignment, Athawale noted that Thackeray’s alliance with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may have yielded limited gains in certain Marathi-speaking areas but failed to significantly influence the overall outcome of the BMC elections.
According to early trends, the Mahayuti alliance is leading in 117 wards of the BMC. Of these, the BJP is ahead in 86 seats, while the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) is leading in 31 seats, substantially strengthening the alliance’s claim over the mayoral post.
Athawale also emphasised that the next Mayor of Mumbai would be a Marathi speaker, underlining the alliance’s cultural and political positioning in the city.
On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)-led alliance has crossed the 68-seat mark, with the UBT faction leading in 58 wards, the MNS in nine, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction in just one seat. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP is also leading in a single ward.
The Congress, meanwhile, continued to struggle in Mumbai’s civic arena, securing leads in only 10 wards, highlighting its shrinking influence in the city’s municipal politics.
