Premium

BMC polls: BJP to fight 140-150 seats, Sena on 80-90 seats; to contest as Mahayuti

The details of the seat-sharing formula will be decided by top state leaders with alliance partners, state BJP president Ravindra Chavan said.

3 min readMumbaiDec 12, 2025 04:19 PM IST

Ravindra Chavan. (Source: Express Archives)

The BJP and the Shiv Sena will contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections together as alliance partners and have reached an agreement on seat-sharing, state BJP president Ravindra Chavan said on Friday.

Highly placed sources in both parties hinted that the BJP is likely to contest 140-150 seats, while the Shiv Sena may field candidates in 80-90 seats. The BMC has a total of 227 seats. Other parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Republican Party of India (Athawale), will be part of the Mahayuti alliance.

“The upcoming local body elections will be contested under the Mahayuti banner,” Chavan said, addressing the media in Nagpur. He said the decision was taken at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and himself. An identical decision was taken at the BJP’s core committee meeting held separately, he added.

The Mahayuti will contest as one for all other major municipal corporation polls, including Thane. “The details regarding the seat-sharing formula will be mutually decided by top state leaders with alliance partners,” Chavan said.

The development comes after more than a month of acrimonious clashes between the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

“Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Fadnavis, development remains an integral aspect of governance in Maharashtra. We believe that to push development, we have to collectively contest the polls,” Chavan said.

The municipal corporation elections, including those for the BMC, are likely to be held in January 2026, according to Chavan. However, this will depend on how the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation matter plays out before the Supreme Court.

Story continues below this ad

Unofficially, sources indicated that the BJP and Shiv Sena would show flexibility and strike a consensus through give-and-take. Initially, the BJP had signalled its intent to contest at least 150 seats, while the Shiv Sena was seeking not fewer than 100. It is now believed that the BJP would settle for 140 to 150 seats and the Shiv Sena for 80 to 90 seats.

In the 2017 BMC polls, the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the BJP contested the BMC polls separately. The Shiv Sena won 84 seats, and the BJP 82. Post elections, they formed an alliance in the BMC.

For the upcoming BMC polls, the BJP has resolved to wrest control from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...