Mumbai : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has kick-started its campaign for the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections by confirming 15 candidates, with plans to contest all 227 wards across Mumbai.
According to AAP committee member Deepaq Silan, nearly 80 candidates have been finalised, and interviews for the remaining wards are underway due to a high volume of applications — with over four per ward. Silan himself will contest from Cuffe Parade (ward 226).
Other confirmed wards include Dharavi (185), Govandi (136), Andheri (189), Anushakti Nagar (158), and Wadala (180). AAP will also field candidates in Malad, Byculla, Mahim, Dahisar, Chandivali, Kandivali, Dindoshi, and Vile Parle.
“Our only agenda is development,” Silan stated, although the party is yet to make the names of its candidates public.
No other major political party has announced its candidate list yet. However, the BJP has formed a steering committee to review wards and prepare election strategies, led by Mumbai BJP President and Minister Ashish Shelar.
The BMC elections are likely to take place in November. As per the revised schedule, draft ward boundaries will be submitted by August 1–5, with final boundaries to be notified between October 3–6, followed by nominations and campaigning.
The civic polls were mandated by the Supreme Court in May, instructing the Maharashtra government to hold elections within four months. Delimitation is currently in progress, with the number of wards fixed at 227, though minor boundary changes are expected.
The BMC has been under administrative rule since 2022. In the last elections held in 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena secured 84 seats, closely followed by BJP with 82. Congress had 31, NCP 9, MNS 7, and independents 14. Since then, political equations have shifted drastically due to party splits.
