Why is BMC result likely to get delayed today?

The results for the BMC election are likely to get delayed on Friday (January 16, 2026). Polling for 227 wards took place across Mumbai on January 15. Mumbaikars voted on the 10,231 polling booths and cast their ballots to choose from the 1700 candidates in the fray. The delay is being attributed to a change in the counting system to be followed.

What was the earlier counting system?

Earlier, each Returning Officer of the BMC would take up the counting to all corporator wards under her/his jurisdiction. This led to the results of all the corporator wards under the RO being declared at the same time.

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What has changed this time?

This time, each Returning Officer will start counting the first two corporator wards in his/her ward. This will mean that the results to the first two wards under each Returning Officer will be declared first. After the counting of the first two wards, the RO will start the process of the counting of the next two wards. The process will continue till the counting to all the wards is completed.

How many corporator wards are there under each RO?

There are approximately 10 corporator wards under each Returning Officer. But the actual number varies in each case. There are 23 Returning Officers in total, for 227 corporator wards.

Each round will likely take anywhere between 1.5 hours to two hours. At one time, one 46 wards can be counted under the Returning Officers.

How will it impact the declaration of results?

While the results to the first two corporator wards under each Returning Officer will be declared early on, delay is likely for the declaration of the results of the last wards under each RO. This will mean that while the overall result to all 227 wards might get delayed, results to the first wards under each RO will be declared early on.