Mumbai is gearing up for its biggest civic battle. With 227 seats up for grabs, millions of voters, and strict spending limits for candidates, the stakes have never been higher. From ward-wise distribution to key voter statistics, understanding the numbers behind the polls gives a clearer picture of what’s at play in Asia’s richest civic body.
After a delay of 34 months, elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will finally be held on January 15, 2026, with counting scheduled for January 16, 2026. The previous five-year term ended in February 2022. The State Election Commission (SEC) announced the schedule, confirming that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect immediately. Including the BMC’s 227 seats, a total of 2,869 seats across 29 municipal corporations will go to the polls. Along with Mumbai, municipal elections will also be held on the same day in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur city and 20 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra.
We break down the seats, voters, spending limits, ward details and all the essential statistics you need to know ahead of the 2026 BMC elections.
Key figures for BMC polls
Polling stations: 10,111
Control units: 11,349
Ballot units: 22,698
Election officers: 290
Assistant election officers: 870
Total staff required: 1,96,605
Overall polling infrastructure (all 29 civic bodies):
Polling stations: 39,147
Control units: 43,958
Ballot units: 87,916
Key voter statistics:
Male voters: 1,81,93,666
Female voters: 1,66,79,755
Other voters: 4596
Total voters (29 corporations): 3,48,78,017
Seat breakup:
OBC: 759
ST: 77
SC: 341
Women reserved: 1,442
Others: 250
Total seats: 2,869
Important dates
Election notifications: BMC – Dec 16, 2025; Other corporations – Dec 18, 2025
Nominations: Dec 23–30, 2025
Scrutiny: Dec 31, 2025
Withdrawal of nominations: Jan 2, 2026
Symbol allotment and final list: Jan 3, 2026
Spending limits (per candidate)
BMC and A-class: Rs 15 lakh
B-class: Rs 13 lakh
C-class: Rs 11 lakh
D-class: Rs 9 lakh
(Source: State Election Commission)
Notes:
Mobile phones are not permitted inside polling stations.
Pink polling stations, staffed entirely by women, will be set up in areas with higher female voter turnout.
Nomination forms can be filled online but must be submitted offline.
Caste validity certificates must be submitted within six months of the results; failure will cancel the election retrospectively.
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) had raised objections to over 11 lakh duplicate names in the voters’ list, demanding necessary corrections before polling. The SEC said BMC officials removed several duplicate entries through field verification and software checks. “If there are any remaining duplicates, they have been marked with a star. This will help identify voters with multiple entries on voting day,” the SEC said.
The BMC polls are expected to witness a direct contest between two major alliances in the state: the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti, which currently governs Maharashtra, comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The main opposition alliance, the MVA, includes the Indian National Congress, the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, and the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP-SP.
After remaining politically apart for nearly two decades, the Thackeray brothers—Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray—have reunited. The move is being seen as a significant development in Mumbai’s political landscape, with the alliance expected to reshape electoral dynamics in the civic polls.
The last BMC elections were held in 2017. Reacting to the poll announcement, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “I am sure people will once again vote for development and progress.
