At the state BJP executive meeting in Shirdi today, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that local body elections are expected in the next three to four months, pending a court ruling on the OBC quota issue. He called on BJP workers to begin preparing for the elections, stressing the importance of embracing new challenges rather than resting on the party’s recent success in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The meeting, the first since the BJP's decisive win last year, was attended by Union ministers Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari.
The BMC, India’s richest municipal body with an annual budget surpassing that of some smaller states, has long been a bastion of an undivided Shiv Sena. The last Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election was held in 2017, with Shiv Sena emerging as the largest party, followed by a resurgent BJP, which made gains by increasing its tally from 31 to 82 seats.
While no party secured a majority, the BJP later extended support to Shiv Sena for the Mayor's post. The Congress saw a steep decline, winning only 31 seats, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) managed just 7 seats. Although the next BMC elections were due in 2022, a ward realignment process caused delays, and the State Election Commission is yet to announce new dates for the polls to be held across 227 wards.