Rebel rise continues in Maharashtra as Congress-backed mayor elected in Bhiwandi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rebel Narayan Chaudhary was on Friday (February 20, 2026) elected the mayor of Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) in Thane district with the backing of the Congress.

Congress’s Tariq Momin was elected the deputy mayor.

The run-up to the mayoral election in the BNCMC was marked by party infightings and surprise alliances, with Mr. Chaudhary and at least eight others corporators splitting from the BJP and joining hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) under the banner of ‘Secular Front’.

“Several BJP councillors have joined the Secular Front, leaving behind the ideology of the BJP. The Secular Front unanimously decided on Chaudhary’s name for the mayorship. So, Bhiwandi has got mayor and deputy mayor from the Congress-led alliance,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.

Mr. Chaudhary said, “This is the victory of the Secular Front, the victory of the people of Bhiwandi. Change the thinking and Bhiwandi will change.”

In the 90-member corporation, Mr. Chaudhary secured 48 votes in the mayoral election, which was conducted through a show of hands, while Vilas Patil of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena bagged 25 votes and BJP’s Sneha Patil got 16 votes. One independent candidate abstained from voting.

In the January 15 poll to the civic body, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 30 seats, followed by the BJP (22), Shiv Sena (12), NCP-SP (12), Samajwadi Party (6), Konark Vikas Aghadi (4), and Bhiwandi Vikas Aghadi (3). One Independent also won. Meanwhile, BJP State president Ravindra Chavan warned of strict disciplinary action against the rebel corporators in Bhiwandi.