Updated on: Jan 24, 2026 10:05:31 AM IST
Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray addressing the media at Shiv Sena Bhavan regarding the BMC election results.
Mumbai mayor election live updates: The BJP-led Mahayuti, which swept the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections last week, is set to appoint a woman mayor from the open category in Mumbai after the completion of the lottery-based reservation process on Thursday. The outcome was a setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT), which had hoped the mayor’s post would be reserved for a Scheduled Tribe woman, as both eligible candidates in that category were from Uddhav Thackeray’s party.
With the reservation finalised, attention has shifted to the likely candidates for the BMC mayor’s post. Among the frontrunners are Alka Kerkar, a three-term corporator and former deputy mayor, and Rajashree Shirwadkar, also a three-term corporator.
Shiv Sena (UBT) alleges rigged lottery
The lottery process, however, drew sharp criticism from the opposition, particularly the Shiv Sena (UBT), which alleged that the reservation exercise was rigged to favour the ruling alliance.
As the draw was underway, the party claimed the process had been fixed to benefit the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance.
“The government changed the rules for reservation for the ST category by raising the minimum number of seats from two to three in the corporations. This is an injustice to SCs and STs as Mumbai was not considered for these, as well as OBC reservation,” said former mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting on behalf of her party.
Uddhav’s Sena appeals to Shinde faction
Amid the ongoing tussle for power in civic bodies across Maharashtra, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader on Friday urged the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to support the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s candidate instead of its ally, the BJP, in the BMC mayoral election.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav said such a move would be a tribute to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his 100th centenary year.
“I request and urge those who claim to take forward the ideals of Balasaheb and claim to be his real inheritors to back Balasaheb’s real Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate in the BMC polls. This will be a true tribute to Balasaheb in his birth centenary year,” Jadhav said, as reported by news agency PTI.
“If you claim to be the real inheritors of Balasaheb’s legacy then he should not back the BJP,” Jadhav added.
BMC election results snapshot
In the January 15 BMC polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. The Shiv Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, won 29 seats, taking the Mahayuti alliance beyond the halfway mark of 114 seats required to control the civic body.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the BMC for 25 years since 1997 as a united party, secured 65 seats. Its allies—the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)—won six seats and one seat respectively.
The thin margin drew sharp responses from Shinde’s Sena, which moved all winning corporators to a Bandra hotel to avoid poaching.
What’s happening in other Maharashtra cities
In total, 17 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will have mayors selected from the open category, several of them women.
Key civic bodies under the open category include Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC) and Nagpur.
Apart from Mumbai, Pune, Bhiwandi, and Dhule will have women mayors from the open category. Navi Mumbai, Malegaon, Nanded and Mira-Bhayandar will also see women mayors from the same category.
As per the lottery, eight other civic bodies will have mayors from the general category, which may also include women. These are Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Amravati, Vasai-Virar, Solapur, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhiwandi-Nizampur.
An official said Thane will have a mayor from the Scheduled Caste category, while Jalgaon, Chandrapur, Ahilyanagar and Akola municipal corporations will have women mayors from the OBC category. Panvel, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur and Ulhasnagar will have OBC mayors, while Kalyan-Dombivli will have a mayor from the Scheduled Tribe category. Jalna and Latur will have women mayors from the Scheduled Caste category.
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With the reservation finalised, attention has shifted to the likely candidates for the BMC mayor’s post. Among the frontrunners are Alka Kerkar, a three-term corporator and former deputy mayor, and Rajashree Shirwadkar, also a three-term corporator.
Shiv Sena (UBT) alleges rigged lottery
The lottery process, however, drew sharp criticism from the opposition, particularly the Shiv Sena (UBT), which alleged that the reservation exercise was rigged to favour the ruling alliance.
As the draw was underway, the party claimed the process had been fixed to benefit the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance.
“The government changed the rules for reservation for the ST category by raising the minimum number of seats from two to three in the corporations. This is an injustice to SCs and STs as Mumbai was not considered for these, as well as OBC reservation,” said former mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting on behalf of her party.
Uddhav’s Sena appeals to Shinde faction
Amid the ongoing tussle for power in civic bodies across Maharashtra, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader on Friday urged the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to support the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s candidate instead of its ally, the BJP, in the BMC mayoral election.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav said such a move would be a tribute to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his 100th centenary year.
“I request and urge those who claim to take forward the ideals of Balasaheb and claim to be his real inheritors to back Balasaheb’s real Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate in the BMC polls. This will be a true tribute to Balasaheb in his birth centenary year,” Jadhav said, as reported by news agency PTI.
“If you claim to be the real inheritors of Balasaheb’s legacy then he should not back the BJP,” Jadhav added.
BMC election results snapshot
In the January 15 BMC polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. The Shiv Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, won 29 seats, taking the Mahayuti alliance beyond the halfway mark of 114 seats required to control the civic body.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the BMC for 25 years since 1997 as a united party, secured 65 seats. Its allies—the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)—won six seats and one seat respectively.
The thin margin drew sharp responses from Shinde’s Sena, which moved all winning corporators to a Bandra hotel to avoid poaching.
What’s happening in other Maharashtra cities
In total, 17 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will have mayors selected from the open category, several of them women.
Key civic bodies under the open category include Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC) and Nagpur.
Apart from Mumbai, Pune, Bhiwandi, and Dhule will have women mayors from the open category. Navi Mumbai, Malegaon, Nanded and Mira-Bhayandar will also see women mayors from the same category.
As per the lottery, eight other civic bodies will have mayors from the general category, which may also include women. These are Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Amravati, Vasai-Virar, Solapur, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhiwandi-Nizampur.
An official said Thane will have a mayor from the Scheduled Caste category, while Jalgaon, Chandrapur, Ahilyanagar and Akola municipal corporations will have women mayors from the OBC category. Panvel, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur and Ulhasnagar will have OBC mayors, while Kalyan-Dombivli will have a mayor from the Scheduled Tribe category. Jalna and Latur will have women mayors from the Scheduled Caste category.
Follow all the updates here:
Jan 24, 2026 10:05:31 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Uddhav Thackeray says ‘Jai Maharashtra in danger’
Mumbai mayor election live updates: The former Maharashtra chief minister on Friday claimed that efforts were being made to impose non-Marathi culture on the state, alleging that the now-revoked decision to make Hindi compulsory from Standard 1 was part of a larger conspiracy.
Warning that the slogan “Jai Maharashtra”, commonly used by Shiv Sena workers, was in danger, Uddhav Thackeray urged people to adopt it as a greeting to assert Maharashtra’s identity, reported PTI.
Jan 24, 2026 10:00:31 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Why is the lottery process required?
Mumbai mayor election live updates: The lottery process is used to determine the reservation category for the mayor’s post, including general, women, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Once the category is announced, corporators eligible under that category file their nominations for the mayoral election.
For BMC in Mumbai, the lottery has determined that the next mayor will be a woman from the general category.
Jan 24, 2026 9:52:13 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Uddhav Thackeray alleges cash-for-votes in Mumbai
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday alleged that money power was used during the Mumbai civic elections, claiming he received multiple complaints of cash being distributed to influence voters.
“This time, for the first time, money was used even in Mumbai. I received complaints from many places: when the door was closed, they threw envelopes through the gap under the door—envelopes stuffed with cash. Are you selling Maharashtra? You can buy votes, but how will you buy hearts? And those living hearts are still with my saffron, with Shiv Sena of the Shiv Sena chief—you’ve shown that again today. This is our strength,” Thackeray said, reported ANI.
Jan 24, 2026 9:47:35 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Sanjay Raut targets PM Modi, says he ‘back-stabbed’ family
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of betraying the Thackeray family, alleging that despite acknowledging Bal Thackeray as an inspiration, he played a role in splitting the Shiv Sena.
“PM Modi posted photo with Bal Thackeray stating he was a source of inspiration but split his party…He back-stabbed the family which saved him in crisis,” Raut said, reported PTI.
Jan 24, 2026 9:45:17 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Uddhav Thackeray alleges use of money power in Maharashtra civic polls
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Uddhav Thackeray on Friday alleged that money power was used for the first time during civic body elections in Maharashtra. He made the remark on Friday while addressing party workers at an event in Mumbai held as part of the birth centenary celebrations of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, news agency PTI reported.
Jan 24, 2026 9:43:34 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: BMC mayor’s five-year term split into two phases
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Under a long-standing practice followed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the mayor’s five-year term is divided into two equal phases. The elected mayor holds office for 2.5 years, after which a fresh election is conducted to choose the mayor for the remaining half of the term.
This system was followed in the previous BMC tenure as well. In 2017, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar served as mayor for 2.5 years until November 2019, following which Kishori Pednekar was elected and remained in the post until 2022.
Jan 24, 2026 9:41:23 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live: Mumbai mayor announcement likely around Jan 28–29 | Top points
1. The election of Mumbai’s next mayor is likely to take place around January 28 or 29, according to sources familiar with the process.
2. The mayoral post in Mumbai has been reserved for a woman from the general category following a lottery draw conducted by the Maharashtra government on Thursday. A similar draw has also earmarked the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) mayor’s post for a woman from the general category.
3. In Maharashtra, mayors are elected by corporators, with eligibility decided through a reservation system determined by a lottery process.
4. In the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde won 29 seats.
Jan 24, 2026 9:19:48 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Uddhav Thackeray hits out at BJP, says Shiv Sena (UBT) is an idea, not just a party
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Addressing party workers on Friday at an event organised as part of the birth centenary celebrations of late Bal Thackeray, founder of the undivided Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray said attempts were being made to erase the Thackeray name, but asserted that such efforts would fail.
“The BJP is wrong if it thinks it can finish Shiv Sena (UBT). The Shiv Sena (UBT) is not a party but an idea,” Uddhav said, reported PTI news agency.
The former chief minister also claimed that without the Shiv Sena, the BJP would not have gained political prominence in Maharashtra.
Had the Shiv Sena not existed, the BJP would have never seen the inside of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or the Mantralaya, the state government’s headquarters, he added.
