For the second phase of civic polls across Maharashtra, the six parties in the State — BJP, two Shiv Senas, two NCPs and Congress — have allied in different combinations to fight each other across the 29 municipal corporations which will go to polls on Thursday (January 15, 2026).
Crucial cities where civic polls will be held include Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kolhapur, Nagpur to name a few. Results will be announced on January 16.
Stakes on these corporations, which have been run by administrators for the past three years, are high as all six parties have re-jigged their coalition partners based on the local heft each of them hold. In the first round of civic polls held in two phases in December 2025, the Mahayuti and MVA parties fought separately including several ‘friendly fights’, but stuck to their respective coalition partners post-polls .
Of the 288 municipal councils nagar panchayats which went to polls, Mahayuti won 207 – BJP grabbed victories in 117 civic bodies, followed by Shiv Sena in 53 and NCP in 37. The MVA managed to win only 52 municipalities– Congress (28), Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP won only nine and seven respectively.
Ahead of voting, 68 candidates of the Mahayuti have already won ‘unopposed’. These include – 44 BJP candidates, 22 from Sena and two from NCP. The ‘winners’ are spread across Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar. Amid Opposition crying afoul, the State Election Commissio (SEC) has stated that it will not declare winners till an inquiry report is submitted.
Here’s a look at who is fighting whom in the key cities:
Mumbai
For India’s richest civic body – Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), BJP has retained Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena as its partner to dent Shiv Sena (UBT)’s chances. Uddhav Thackeray has buried his hatchet with cousin Raj Thackeray and allied with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP).
Meanwhile, Congress has allied with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) while Ajit Pawar’s NCP is contesting independently.
BJP is contesting on 137 seats, Shiv Sena on 90 seats in the 227-member BMC. Mahayuti ally RPI(A) was furious at being excluded from the seat-sharing and will contest on 20 seats. On the Thackeray side, Sena (UBT) will contest on 165 seats, MNS on 52, leaving NCP-SP to contest 10 seats. The third coalition in the fray will see Congress contest on 143 seats, VBA on 62 and smaller allies on six seats, taking the bloc’s total to 195 seats. However, in 21 of the 62 seats allotted to it, VBA failed to find a suitable candidate, leaving 32 seats where BJP-Sena will clash directly with the Thackerays.
NCP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are contesting independently on 94 and 75 seats respectively.
BMC has stayed with the Shiv Sena since 1985 (barring 1992-1996) and is where the Thackeray clan has its strongest hold, fending off its prime challenger BJP several times. BJP, which nurtures wishes to contest 2029 Assembly polls solo, came close to dethroning the Sena in 2017 winning 82 seats while the undivided Sena won 84, retaining its mayor seat.
Wishing to retain this Thackeray turf, the two cousins have buried their twenty-year-old hatchet, marking the first Shiv Sena-MNS joint bid for the BMC – a first since 2005.
Suburbs outside Mumbai
Thane is a Shiv Sena stronghold – specifically, Eknath Shinde’s home turf. For the 131-seat council, Sena is contesting on 87 seats, BJP on 40 and smaller allies have been allotted four seats. The Thackerays and NCP-SP which have continued their alliance in Thane, will see Sena (UBT) clash on 53 seats, MNS on 34 and NCP-SP on 36. Congress and NCP are contesting solo on 96 and 75 seats respectively.
In 2017, the undivided Sena won 67 out of the 131 seats, forming the council on its own while NCP won 34 seats and BJP grabbed 23 seats. Currently, 66 of the 67 Sena corporators who were elected in 2017 are backing Mr. Shinde, giving him a definitive edge. However, Mr. Thackeray is banking on support for the ‘original’ Sena. Barring 1987-1993, Sena has ruled Thane owing to legacy of Shiv Sena stalwarts – Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe.
The alliance holds true in Kalyan-Dombivli too where Mr. Shinde’s influence holds true. His Sena is contesting on 65 seats, BJP on 57. While NCP was expected to be given 10 seats from either party’s kitty, it did not fructify. On the Opposition side, the Thackerays split the 122 seats with Sena (UBT) contesting on 68 and MNS on 54. NCP-SP switched alliances joining the Congress-VBA bloc and is contesting on 45 seats. Congress has grabbed 55 seats, while VBA on 12 seats.
A dog fight is underway for Mira-Bhayander, Navi Mumbai and Bhiwandi as all main parties are contesting independently, with some already winning ‘unopposed’. Local alliances with smaller parties like Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Bahujan Samaj Partt have cropped up in Amravati, Jalna, Vasai-Virar to name a few.
Also Read | BMC elections: the rise of fluid alliances | Explained
Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad
Pawar clan has come together in a bid to regain their fiefdom in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. In 2017, BJP stormed into power winning 97 seats in the 165-member corporation, a first for the saffron party. Like the Thackerays, Ajit Pawar and NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar have buried their differences as a last-ditch attempt for their bastion. Both Ms. Supriya Sule and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar presented a united front and unveil their joint manifesto and senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare has not ruled out a merger of the two factions.
In Pune, NCP has put up 130 candidates while NCP-SP had fielded 43, setting up a friendly fight in seven seats. Similarly, in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar’s faction has grabbed 110 seats while Sharad Pawar’s faction is contesting on 18 seats for the 128-member civic body.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance talks broke down in Pune as BJP refused to cede more than 15 seats to Sena, while Mr. Shinde demanded 25 seats. A disgruntled Sena has fielded 119 candidates setting up a direct fight with the BJP which has also decided to contest solo. Congress, on the other hand, has foregone its reservations regarding MNS, allying with the Thackerays to counter the Pawars. Sena (UBT) is contesting on 65 seats of which MNS has been allotted 21.
Nashik and Dhule
In Nashik and Dhule municipal corporations, the smaller Mahayuti parties – Shinde’s Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP have allied to take on the Thackerays-Sharad Pawar and the BJP which is going solo.
Unusual post-poll alliances
Post-polls too fluidity among the Mahayuti partners is evident as it emerged winners in key councils of Ambarnath falling under Thane district, Parli in Beed and Akot in Akola.
In Ambarnath, where polls were held on December 20, post-poll tussle have gotten ugly as BJP councillors allied with Congress and Ajit Pawar’s NCP to form the ‘Ambarnath Vikas Aghadi’ – securing 31 seats in the 60-member council. This was to keep Shinde’s Sena which had won 27 seats from taking control. While Congress expelled its 12 councillors (who promptly jumped to BJP), Sena wrested away NCP (which won 4 seats) from the Aghadi and secured one Independent’s support. The Sena-led coalition has successfully elected Sadashiv Hender Patil as the deputy mayor along with five other members who were nominated to the council.
Similarly, in Akot, BJP councillors had joined hands with ideological rival – All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to form the ‘Akot Vikas Manch’ after elections. Prior to the polls, BJP had allied with NCP which in turn sought AIMIM’s support after the elections. After CM Devendra Fadnavis issued a rebuke to Akot MLA Prakash Bharsakale, the local BJP unit distanced itself from it. However, the BJP nominee for council president – Jiten Barethia was elected with the backing of the five AIMIM councillors.
BJP’s Mahayuti partners too seemed to have picked up the idea. In Parli, the NCP, which won 16 seats in the 35-member municipal council, gained the support of one AIMIM, two Shiv Sena and four Independent councillors.
After facing an ultimatum of Sena’s exit from the alliance, AIMIM corporator Sheikh Ayesha Mohsin withdrew her support and NCP is set to stake claim with the support of 22 corporators.
