Mumbai politics is on the fire after yesterday’s BMC results announced. The Mahayuti alliance (BJP + Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena) totally owned it, ladder 118 seats out of 227. That’s the way to past the 114 needed for majority in India’s richest civic body. Eventually, after four long years with no elected mayor, Mumbai’s getting it one again!
The BJP straight-up made history as the single-largest party, pulling in 89 seats—their best show ever in the BMC, beating their old 82 from 2017. Shinde’s Shiv Sena added 29 seats to lock it in. On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) got 65, Raj Thackeray’s MNS only 6, Congress around 24, and the rest disperse to compact parties like AIMIM.
This is enormous—it ends the Thackeray family’s almost 30-year lock on the BMC.
Everyone from PM Modi to CM Devendra Fadnavis is calling it a win for development: Coastal Road, Atal Setu, metros, all that infra stuff voters loved over the old family politics drama. The budget here is insane—over ₹74,000 crore—so whoever runs it shapes the city big time.
But okay, the real gossip everyone’s buzzing about today? The mayor’s post. The BJP wants their first-ever Mumbai mayor, and Fadnavis has been pretty upfront about it. Problem is, even with 89 seats, they don’t have an absolute majority alone—they still rely on those 29 from Shinde’s Sena to stay comfy and push big stuff through.
Sources are saying this gives Eknath Shinde some real leverage. His camp is already hinting they want the mayor from their side, claiming they’re the “true Shiv Sena” carrying Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy (especially with his birth centenary kicking off soon on Jan 23). Shinde’s playing it smart in public—saying the alliance will decide together for Mumbai’s good—but behind closed doors? There’s tension. Some Shinde folks argue their role deserves the top civic spot as a nod to the original Sena legacy.
BJP leaders are holding firm: single-largest party gets it. Classic alliance tug-of-war after a big joint win.
The opposition’s not quiet either. Sanjay Raut straight-up called Shinde a “Jaichand” for handing Mumbai to the BJP. Uddhav’s camp is stinging after the big Thackeray brothers reunion with Raj didn’t deliver the knockout punch, especially outside their Marathi strongholds.
So yeah, Mumbai’s turning saffron in the BMC for the first time ever, super exciting for development fans. But who actually gets to wear the mayor’s chain? BJP making history, or Shinde pulling a kingmaker move? This power-sharing chat is gonna drag on a bit—backroom talks are probably heating up as we speak.
Alliance politics, man… never dull!
Sources:
NDTV
Hindustan Times
The Hindu
India Today
Times of India
Livemint
