BJP announces first list of 66 candidates for BMC elections

Mumbai, Dec 29
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 66 candidates for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. This announcement signals the party's formal launch into a high-stakes battle for Asia’s richest civic body.

Key names in the first list include Tejasvee Ghosalkar, Ganesh Khankar, Manisha Yadav, Milind Shinde, and Akash Purohit. Ghosalkar, who recently quit Shiv Sena UBT, had joined the BJP, while Akash Purohit is the son of former party minister Raj Purohit.

A major highlight of the list is the nomination of Ravi Raja, the former Leader of Opposition in the BMC, who recently defected from the Congress to join the BJP. Raja will contest from Ward No 185 in Dharavi, a move seen as a direct challenge to the Congress stronghold in that region.

Other notable candidates include Neil Somaiya (Ward 107), who is the son of former MP Kirit Somaiya, Makarand Narvekar (Ward 226), and Harshita Narvekar (Ward 227). Both are family members of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar and Tejinder Singh Tiwana (Ward 47).

BJP’s move to release its first list comes when the party is still engaged in seat-sharing talks with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Although both parties claim that they are allies in the MahaYuti, they are still unable to arrive at the seat sharing arrangement due to tough bargaining.

BJP insiders said that the party wants to contest 150 seats and is not prepared to meet the Shinde faction’s demand for 100 seats. They may, however, close the seat-sharing deal with the BJP, fighting 140 seats, leaving 87 to the Shinde faction.

The 2026 elections present a transformed political map in Mumbai. For the first time in nearly 20 years, brothers Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are expected to fight the municipal polls together, as they announced an alliance last week.

While the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena remain aligned, Ajit Pawar’s NCP has decided to contest independently in Mumbai.

The BJP has notably refused to ally with Ajit Pawar’s faction in Mumbai, specifically due to Nawab Malik. In response, the NCP has fielded three members of the Malik family, including Sana Malik’s aunt, uncle, and sister-in-law.

The State Election Commission has announced that voting for the BMC and the other 28 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will take place on January 15, 2026. The results will be declared following the counting process on January 16, 2026.