Adjacent to Mumbai, the rapid development hubs in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Panvel and Navi Mumbai are witnessing diametrically opposite political situations for the civic polls.
Established in 2016, Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has seen complete dominance of the BJP led by local MLA Prashant Thakur in its first election in 2017.
In the 78-member PMC, the BJP had won 51 while its main opponent, the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) won 23, the undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress won two each.
Following the split in Shiv Sena and the NCP, the political situation in the PMC has not changed drastically but the civic body continues to fight with key issues of irregular water supply and pending property tax bills for last nine years.
The Opposition on Sunday dared Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is scheduled to address a campaign rally, to spell out his plans on the pending issues, alleging that despite his past promises, the local BJP leadership has “failed to do so”.
In 2026, the BJP is fighting on 71 seats for PMC after forming an alliance with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which will contest on four seats. The Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP will contest on two seats and RPI in one.
Despite its several top leaders quitting the party and key leader – former MLA Vivek Patil – in jail, the PWP is attempting a fight by taking along other Opposition parties.
As part of Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) seat sharing, PWP will contest on 29 seats, Sena UBT(16), Congress (12) and rest to other parties including MNS.
“Be it naming the newly constructed Navi Mumbai international Airport after late D B Patil or ensuring regular water supply to Kharghar, the issues have not seen logical conclusion yet. In addition, the issue of pending property tax slapped on locals after formation of the municipal corporation has yet not been resolved. If the chief minister is coming to Panvel, he should resolve these problems and accept that the local BJP leadership has completely failed to sort it out,” said Sudam Patil, Panvel Congress chief.
Fight for dominance turns bitter in Navi Mumbai
While the Mahayuti has put up a united face in Panvel, in the adjacent Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, a fierce tug-of-war has emerged between the Shinde-led Sena and the BJP. Despite serving together in the Cabinet, Eknath Shinde and BJP minister Ganesh Naik are locked in a bitter conflict.
Even before the elections were officially announced, the BJP and Shinde Sena had begun preparing to contest independently in Navi Mumbai. Although alliance meetings were held as a formality, the breakup was declared on the final day of nominations, citing a lack of consensus on seat-sharing. BJP subsequently fielded candidates for all 111 seats while the Shinde Sena is fighting on 106 seats. The BJP and Sena are in direct fight on 106 seats.
The battle between the two has, however, put opposition on backfoot with both parties enrolling top leaders from Congress, Sena UBT and the NCP(SP).
As a result of the split, Opposition has failed to field candidates on all 111 seats in the corporations. The Sena UBT and MNS have formed an alliance while all other parties are fighting independently.
Last week, Shinde spent a day campaigning extensively across the Airoli and Belapur wards. Meanwhile, Naik claimed credit for resolving long-standing issues regarding the redevelopment of dilapidated buildings, project-affected persons, SRA schemes, and condominium matters.
The BJP has granted full authority over the election to Naik, who launched a scathing attack on Shinde. He accused Shinde of diverting Navi Mumbai’s water supply and handing over plots reserved for social amenities to builders. Naik challenged Shinde to contest the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections independently, warning that anyone who crossed him would face total political erasure.
In response, the Shinde Sena accused Naik of land grabbing, specifically citing the Bavkhaleshwar and Retibandar glass house plots, and blamed him for stalling city development.
Sena Minister Shambhuraj Desai while campaigning, countered Naik, stating, “You are a minister because of us. We will be the ones to overturn your chariot and bring about change.”
Of the 550 Zilla Parishad seats secured by the Mahayuti till late Monday evening, the BJP proved its supremacy by winning 225 seats, followed by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 165 seats, and the Shiv Sena with 162. (File Photo) 
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