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Dharavi votes for opposition in all but one seat

Sena (UBT)'s T M Jagdish defeated the BJP's Ravi Raja in ward 185, the former leader of opposition who jumped ship from the Congress to join the party.

3 min readMumbaiJan 16, 2026 10:53 PM IST

The sole seat won by the Mahayuti was taken by Shiv Sena's Bhaskar Shetty in ward 188, who won by a thin margin of 460 votes

Amid a sea of loss, Dharavi emerged as a bastion of wins for the opposition. Only one of seven seats was won by the Mahayuti; four were taken by Shiv Sena (UBT), followed by two with the Congress. Echoing the fear around the Dharavi redevelopment project and the threat of losing their homes, most in the ward chose to back opposition candidates to add a protective layer during the churn.

Sena (UBT)’s T M Jagdish defeated the BJP’s Ravi Raja in ward 185, the former leader of opposition who jumped ship from the Congress to join the party. While Raja was contesting away from his home constituency in Sion Koliwada, Jagdish was well at ease as the former corporator of the ward, winning with a lead of over 2,000 votes.
Sena (UBT) also won wards 186, 187 and 189. In ward 186, Archana Shinde won with 6,731 votes, defeating Neela Sonawane’s 5,690 votes.

Despite the loss, Sonawane took solace in BJP’s increase in vote share in the area. “I am not sure what went wrong, a lot of people were with us in the hopes that finally their area would see some change,” she said. “Some names were missing from the voting list, so that may have added to the loss. But as compared to last time, the BJP has done much better in Dharavi, which gives me some hope that more people are on board with our vision.”

187 saw the victory of Sena (UBT)’s Joseph Koli, coming at 7,067 votes. The runner up was Congress’s Ayesha Khan, who secured 5,753 votes. In Dharavi’s last ward, 189, Harshala More secured her win with 8,081 votes. She comfortably beat BJP’s Magala Gaikwad with a margin of 4,479 votes.

Both 185 and 189 faced a blip in the counting, with one EVM showing an error message, prompting their results to be withheld for checks. Both the wins, however, were vindicated.
The Congress retained their two seats in Dharavi, leading with Asha Kale in ward 183 and Sajida Babbu Khan in ward 184. Kale defeated the Shiv Sena’s Vaishali Shewale with a margin of 1,254 votes.

Khan, wife of former corporator Babbu Khan, won against the wife of former corporator of ward 185, Varsha Nakashe, with a 2,000 plus vote margin.

The sole seat won by the Mahayuti was taken by Shiv Sena’s Bhaskar Shetty in ward 188, who won by a thin margin of 460 votes. The runner up was AIMIM’s Ali Munawar Sayyed, who came in with 6,035 votes. Sayyed demanded a recount. The former corporator of the area, Mariammal Thevar from the Congress, came in third with 5,007 votes.

Sabah Virani

Sabah Virani is a journalist with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, covering infrastructure, housing and urban issues. In the realms of technical fields, she brings out human stories and the pace of change ongoing in the city. Expertise Specialised Role: Tracking infrastructure in Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Sabah’s reporting tracks progress on various projects. From bridges to metros, she mixes technical details with resourceful information. Core coverage areas: Sabah keeps a close eye on the activities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and its projects across the MMR, including the metros, road projects, bridges, the bullet train, pod taxi, its role as a planning authority, and more. She also watches for developments from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and the GoM’s Urban Development department. Housing: Sabah also tracks developments in housing, particularly the workings of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). She also keeps a keen watch on the big redevelopment projects ongoing in Mumbai, including the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, Motilal Nagar, Kamathipura, BDD Chawl redevelopment, among others. Occasionally, she reports on the environment, biodiversity, waste, arts and culture. Experience: Prior to working for the Indian Express, Sabah covered the municipality, civic issues and miscellaneous for Hindustan Times. Before that, she covered all things Mumbai for the online publication Citizen Matters. She has also worked as an editorial assistant at FiftyTwo.in. ... Read More

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