Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Highlights: ‘Opposition's ‘Vote Jihad’ slogan will not work' claims Fadnavis

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Voters are required to carry a valid photo identity proof while casting their ballot. Acceptable documents include the Aadhaar card, passport, PAN card, and other government-issued photo IDs

Voters can also verify their details through the Election Commission’s Voter Helpline App, which can be downloaded from eci.gov.in/voter-helpline-app/.

You can verify your name in the electoral list via the following steps:

– Visit the National Voter’s Service Portal (NVSP) at nvsp.in

– Go to the ‘Search in Electoral Roll’ section

– Look up your details by entering personal information or your EPIC (Elector Photo Identity Card) number

– Once submitted, the portal will display your voter registration status

Polling is set to commence from 7:30 am, with the counting scheduled for Friday, 16 January

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on the last day of campaigning, held a roadshow on a bike for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation election. Here's a glimpse

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Apart from Mumbai, the other key municipal corporations going to polls on Thursday include Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Polling for the 2,869 seats across 893 wards will start at 7.30 am and end at 5.30 pm, PTI reported.

The last BMC polls were held in 2017. The term of the corporators ended on 7 March 2022, and subsequent elections could not be held in time, resulting in the civic body being placed under the administration of an administrator. Read here

The 15 January polls would mark Shiv Sena's first BMC election since the 2022 split, when Eknath Shinde separated with a chunk of party's legislators

Following the polling on Thursday, the counting of votes will take place on Friday, 16 January.

Polling for the 2869 seats spread across 893 wards is scheduled to begin at 7:30 am and will conclude at 5:30 pm on Thursday, 15 January

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday claimed that minorities know they are “used as vote machines and discarded,” alleging that the Opposition's "vote jihad" slogan will no longer work against his party BJP

Due to polling, the holiday will apply to government offices, semi-government bodies, corporations and boards, public sector undertakings, banks, and central government offices located within the limits of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Click here for the full list of what's open, closed

A day before the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray visited the iconic Mumbadevi temple on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The most recent BMC election was due in 2022. Since the elected house is not in place, an administrator has been overseeing the civic body since the corporators' term ended on 7 March 2022.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Election campaigning for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra concluded on Tuesday. The BJP-led Mahayuti aims to take control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, facing competition from a united Thackeray front.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The NSE and BSE will remain closed on January 15, 2026, on account of the Maharashtra civic body elections. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has declared January 15 as a trading holiday for the capital market segment.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has predicted that MNS leader Raj Thackeray would emerge as the biggest loser in his alliance with cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray.

He also dismissed the coming together of both NCP factions in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad as merely a localised development.

Electors in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls will be required to present either a voter photo ID card or any one of the 12 alternative identity documents approved by the State Election Commission to cast their vote, officials said, as per ANI.

Those without a voter ID may submit any one of the 12 notified documents, which include the passport, Aadhaar card, driving licence, PAN card, government-issued photo identity cards and bank or post office passbooks with photographs.

Electors can also show the disability certificates with photos, MGNREGA job cards, pension-related photo documents, official identity cards issued to MPs and MLAs, freedom fighter identity cards, or photo health insurance cards issued by the Union Labour Ministry, a BMC release on Tuesday said.

“The campaigning is over, but the ruling party is doing something else...Sarees are being distributed, money is being distributed door-to-door...Election rules are being violated in Maharashtra. Illegally obtained money is being distributed... The Marathi people need to recognize this,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut told ANI on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The last BMC polls were held in 2017. The term of the corporators ended on March 7, 2022, and subsequent elections could not be held in time, resulting in the civic body being placed under an administrator.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Maharashtra government will not disburse the January installment of the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’ ahead of schedule, following directions from the State Election Commission (SEC), said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He noted that although it has been customary to provide advance payments under the scheme during major festivals to support economically weaker women, this time the monthly assistance of ₹1,500 will be deposited only after January 16. The date coincides with the counting of votes for elections held in 29 municipal corporations, Fadnavis mentioned, news agency PTI said.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Mumbai's Mayor, unlike Delhi's, largely plays a ceremonial role. The Mumbai Mayor lacks executive powers such as day-to-day administration, budget preparation, policy implementation, contract approvals, or staff supervision. These powers rest with the Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer appointed by the Maharashtra government, who heads the executive wing and runs the civic administration. Yet, the Mayor is the city's First Citizen, presiding over and chairing meetings of the BMC's general body.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The NSE and BSE will remain closed on January 15, 2026, on account of the Maharashtra civic body elections. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has declared January 15 as a trading holiday for the capital market segment.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Campaigning for elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra ended today, with political focus firmly on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti is seeking to wrest control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation amid a challenge from a united Thackeray front.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: In Goa the overall budget for 2025-26 was ₹28,162 crore. It was ₹39,842 crore for Arunachal Pradesh and ₹58,514 crore for Himachal Pradesh.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The BMC’s ₹74,427 crore budget, although municipal, is larger than the entire budgets of Goa, Sikkim and Tripura, where state governments are responsible for services such as health, education, police, infrastructure and welfare.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The BMC is country’s richest municipality. The civic body's budget l was ₹74,000 crore budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Apart from Mumbai, the other key municipal corporations going to polls on Thursday include Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: The last BMC election was held in 2022. In the absence of an elected house, the civic body has been under the control of an administrator since the term of the corporators ended on 7 March 2022.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: Polling for the 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in Maharashtra’s municipal corporations will begin at 7.30 am and conclude at 5.30 pm on January 15. A total of 34.8 million eligible voters will decide the fate of 15,931 candidates across the state, including 1,700 in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune. The votes will be counted on January 16.

Maharashtra Civic Body Polls 2026 Live: All eyes will be on BMC polls and voting for the Mumbai's civic body along with 28 others across Maharashtra will be held in 15 January.