29 Maharashtra civic bodies go to polls on January 15; Mumbai is big prize

More than 3.48 crore voters will cast their ballots on Thursday (January 15, 2026) in elections to 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, in Maharashtra, choosing 2,869 corporators from among 15,908 candidates, following an intense, high-pitched campaign by all six major political parties in the State.

All eyes are on the Mumbai municipal corporation, the country’s richest civic body, where cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have reunited after two decades. In all other cities except Mumbai, voters will cast multiple votes for the first time to choose multiple corporators for each ward, under the panel system. In Mumbai, however, voters will have to cast a single vote due to the traditional one-ward-one-corporator model.

Counting of votes will be held on Friday (January 16, 2026).

On Wednesday (January 14, 2026), Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare held a meeting with representatives of all registered political parties and senior police officials to review poll preparedness.

“Voting arrangement has been made at 39,092 polling booths across the State,” a State Election Commission spokesperson said.

Of the 3.48 crore voters, 1.81 crore are men, 1.66 crore are women, and 4,596 are other voters. Of the 39,092 polling stations, 3,196 have been declared sensitive. Voting will be conducted on electronic voting machines. Of the 43,958 control units and 87,916 ballot units, 11,349 control units and 22,698 ballot units have been deployed for Mumbai.

To ensure law and order, The police have deployed dozens of senior officers, along with 11,938 constables and 42,703 home guards. In all, 57 companies of the State Reserve Police Force have been deployed.

Mumbai scene

In Mumbai, 1,700 candidates are in the fray for 227 wards. Polling will be held at 10,231 polling booths. In all, 64,375 government officials have been deployed for the smooth conduct of elections. The Congress, which refused to join hands with the Shiv Sena (UBT), is fighting these elections along with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. On the other hand, the Thackeray cousins have joined hands after two decades. They have the support of NCP(SP).

While the Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 163 seats, the Raj Thackeray party is fighting 53. The NCP(SP) has been given 11 seats. The BJP is fighting for 137 seats, while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena will contest 90 seats.

The biggest question in Mumbai is the swing of the Marathi vote bank, and whether it will be the deciding factor for any party’s majority in the elections. The Shiv Sena (UBT) anticipates vote division of the minority community and the backward communities due to the split in Maha Vikas Aghadi, while the BJP fears lower voter turnout in Mumbai.

While the BJP has been trying to gain most seats in the city, it has tried to allay Mr. Shinde’s fears about mayoral position, saying numbers will not be the sole criterion to decide the Mumbai mayor.