Politics

BJP’s 45% vote share in BMC polls shows decisive mandate: Fadnavis

BJP’s strong performance in the BMC polls shows public backing for its development agenda, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said

PGurus Newsdesk

January 18, 2026

Fadnavis says BJP’s civic poll win proves public support

Vote share gap highlights BJP’s growing dominance in Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 45 percent vote share in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections reflected a decisive public mandate, underlining the party’s growing dominance in Mumbai’s civic politics.

Addressing BJP workers a day after the BJP–Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance secured 118 of the 227 seats, Fadnavis said the BJP had outperformed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) despite contesting significantly fewer seats.

“In 2017, we contested all 227 seats and won 82. This time, we contested only 135 seats and still won 89. That itself answers whether this is an achievement,” Fadnavis said, countering comparisons with the previous BMC election.

He pointed out that the BJP secured 45 per cent of the vote share, while Shiv Sena (UBT), which contested about 30 more seats, managed 27 percent. “This clearly shows the strength of our mandate and the strong support we have received,” he said.

Calling the result a “very happy moment”, the chief minister said becoming the single largest party in Mumbai had been a long-standing dream of the BJP since it built its independent organisational base in the city.

Fadnavis recalled that the BJP had emerged as the largest party in Mumbai in the 2014, 2019, and 2024 Assembly elections, and had narrowly missed the top position in the 2017 BMC polls by just two seats.

“We have realised our strength. People of Mumbai have supported our development agenda. In many constituencies, we lost by very thin margins. Otherwise, we could have crossed the 100-seat mark,” he said.

He added that no party had won 89 seats in the previous three BMC elections, calling the alliance’s performance historic. “We have won in slums, high-rise buildings, Koliwadas, and chawls. People from all linguistic backgrounds have supported us. This is a victory of Team Mumbai,” Fadnavis said.

The chief minister said his government aims to transform Mumbai into a world-class, clean, and liveable city, ensure transparent and people-centric civic governance, complete ongoing infrastructure projects within the next two to three years, and launch new initiatives after the mayor is announced.

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