Maharashtra Civic Body Elections 2026: Boost for BJP as exit polls predict Mahayuti sweep

Mumbai: Voting for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of Mumbai - the country's richest civic body - concluded at 5:30 pm on Thursday. Now, the results are awaited on Friday. 

When will the results be declared?

Counting will begin on Friday morning, and the situation is expected to become clear by evening. Before that, exit poll data released after the voting suggests that the BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance is likely to form the government in the BMC.

What does the exit polls say?

According to the Axis My India exit poll, the BJP and its allies are likely to form the government in the Mumbai BMC elections. The BJP alliance is projected to win 131-151 seats, while the Thackeray brothers' Shiv Sena and MNS are likely to get 58-68 seats. The Congress alliance may win 12-16 seats, and others 6-12 seats. According to the exit poll, in terms of caste-wise vote percentage, 30 percent of the Marathi vote may go to the BJP alliance, while the UBT alliance may get 49 percent, the Congress alliance eight percent, and others 13 percent.

Around 68 percent of the North Indian vote is likely to go to the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. The UBT alliance may get 19 percent, the Congress alliance two percent, and others 11 percent. Furthermore, 61 percent of the South Indian vote may go to the BJP, 21 percent to the UBT, eight percent to the Congress alliance, and ten percent to others. Regarding Muslim votes, the BJP alliance may get 12 percent, the UBT alliance 28 percent, and the Congress alliance 41 percent. Others are likely to get 19 percent of the Muslim vote. According to the exit poll, the BJP alliance is projected to get the highest vote share of 42 percent. The UBT alliance is projected to receive 32 percent of the votes, the Congress alliance 13 percent, and other parties 13 percent. 

What did the State Election Commission say?

Earlier, according to State Election Commission (SEC) Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, the voter turnout so far was between 46 and 50 percent. Waghmare told reporters that the voter turnout was higher than the figures for the 2017 municipal elections. Waghmare said he was satisfied with the voter turnout. According to SEC data, 41.13 percent voting had been recorded in the state's 29 municipal corporations by 3:30 PM.