If sources within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are to be believed, the upcoming civic elections will likely be held for 227 electoral wards, as per the original pre-2022 configuration. Although the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had increased the number of wards from 227 to 236 during its tenure, that decision was later legally challenged.
On May 6, the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to notify elections to all local bodies—which have been delayed since 2022—within four weeks. The delays were primarily due to ongoing litigation regarding the implementation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations. Following the apex court’s directive, the State Election Commission has instructed all civic bodies to begin preparations.
A senior official from BMC’s election department said, “The election process will begin with redefining ward boundaries and drawing a lottery for reservation categories. However, there is a strong possibility that the total number of wards will remain at 227.”
Explaining the reasoning, the official added, “The Supreme Court has ordered that elections must be held based on the status quo prior to 2022. While the order was focused on OBC reservations, it also implies that the ward expansion may not apply.”
The five-year term of BMC corporators ended on March 7, 2022, and the civic body has since been under the administration of a state-appointed official. In 2022, the MVA government increased the number of wards to 236, a move that drew objections from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argued that such changes should only follow a fresh census.
In the 2017 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena secured a dominant position by winning 84 seats, while the BJP came close with 82, and the Congress won 31. Later, six of the seven elected Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporators also joined Shiv Sena. After the party split in 2022, around 26 former corporators aligned with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s faction.
