Mumbai: With the State Election Commission announcing the dates, preparations for the long-delayed BMC elections after nearly four years are finally underway.

During this period, the split in the Shiv Sena, shifting alliances among the BJP, Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and repeated delays in holding polls led to the BMC being run by appointed administrators rather than elected representatives.

Reshaped by recent political upheavals in Maharashtra, the upcoming BMC election has transformed from a once-predictable contest into a high-stakes, multi-party battle.

As Mumbai moves back to elected governance, the results will reflect public opinion, political strength, and the future course of urban politics in India’s financial hub.

In the years after Independence, the Indian National Congress held a strong grip on the BMC, reflecting its dominance in Maharashtra politics. This began to change in the late 20th century, as the Shiv Sena, built on Marathi pride and regional identity, steadily gained influence in Mumbai.

The party first came to power in the BMC in 1985, and by 1997, it had established firm control, beginning nearly two decades of largely uninterrupted rule. For years, the Shiv Sena governed the BMC either alone or in alliance with the BJP.

However, the long-standing alliance was disrupted in 2017, a turning point when the Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party while the BJP made significant gains, finishing a close second. Despite being allies at the state and national levels, the two parties clashed fiercely, exposing cracks in their partnership.

In 2019, Maharashtra politics saw major shifts with the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, an alliance of the Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The political landscape changed further when the Shiv Sena split into Uddhav-led and Eknath Shinde-led factions, and the NCP divided into Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar groups in 2023.

In 2022, Shinde led a rebellion, with most Shiv Sena legislators joining him and the BJP to form the state government. This weakened the original Shiv Sena faction and removed a strong regional rival to the BJP in state politics.

With the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP is poised to fulfil its long-standing goal of electing a mayor from its alliance. On the other hand, there is strong speculation that the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena may join forces in an attempt to challenge the ruling alliance and regain power.

The upcoming BMC election is more than just about roads, flooding, or waste management—it marks the return of elected leadership after nearly four years under state-appointed administrators Iqbal Singh Chahal from March 2022, followed by Bhushan Gagrani in March 2024.

Voters will compare the performance of administrators with what elected leaders could deliver. For the rival Shiv Sena factions, the polls are a fight for legacy and legitimacy, the BJP aims to strengthen its hold in urban Maharashtra, and Congress and other regional parties hope to regain a foothold in Mumbai.

Major political parties
1992 | 2002 | 2012 | 2017

Shiv Sena — 69 | 98 | 75 | 84
BJP — 14 | 35 | 31 | 82
Congress — 112 | 60 | 52 | 31
NCP — 0 | 13 | 13 | 09
Samajwadi Party — 0 | 10 | 09 | 06

(In 1992, Mumbai had 220 wards, which have now been increased to 227.)

New Delhi, Dec 16: The Opposition on Tuesday staged a protest outside Parliament, holding placards and raising slogans against the Centre over its move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Raising slogans such as “Gandhiji ka ye apman, nahi sahega Hindustan” and “Mahatma Gandhi Amar Rahe”, Opposition parliamentarians accused the BJP-led Centre of removing the name of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, from the rural employment scheme.

Opposition MPs objected to the renaming of the flagship employment programme and marched within the Parliamentary premises to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, where they continued their protest.

The demonstration followed the introduction of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), 2025, a Bill that seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, triggering sharp reactions from Opposition members who questioned the rationale behind removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from a landmark welfare scheme that has been in existence for nearly two decades.

“The truth is that under the pretext of changing the scheme’s name, they want to scrap it. Why do they want to change the name of this scheme? Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation,” Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters during the protest.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, speaking to Media, questioned the logic behind the “renaming” exercise. “How will the change in the name benefit the farmers of the country? This politics of changing the name first started in Uttar Pradesh, and now it has arrived in Delhi also,” he said.

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal also strongly criticised the Centre for replacing the scheme.

Speaking to Media, Venugopal said, “This is an insult to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. We are protesting because this is basically the anti-national attitude of the BJP to insult Mahatma Gandhi and kill the MGNREGA scheme.”

Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad told Media, “This is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Lord Ram is respected in the entire country and the world. The one who is insulting Lord Ram is these people (ruling party).”

The Opposition maintained that the proposed replacement of MGNREGA and the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name reflected a deeper attempt to dilute a crucial employment guarantee programme.

Mumbai: The Samajwadi Party state president, Abu Azmi, on Tuesday, December 16, hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after a video from a government event in Patna went viral on social media. The clip triggered outrage as it showed the Bihar CM pulling down a woman doctor’s hijab while presenting her appointment letter.

While speaking to media, Abu Azmi said that he is deeply saddened as a person of the Chief Minister’s calibre, served as CM multiple times and is a senior leader, behaved so disrespectfully towards a woman.

Calling it unacceptable, he added that “If a woman wears a burqa, it is her personal choice, and forcibly pulling it off with one’s hand sends a message that the lives of Muslims have no value and anyone can remove their burqa.”

The Samajwadi Party state president said that the Bihar CM should apologise to the woman for his disrespectful behaviour. “I appeal to the people to protest against him, and until he apologises to the woman and she herself forgives him, he should not be spared…”

The incident reportedly took place on Monday during an official function where Kumar was distributing certificates to AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) doctors.

The woman seen in the video has been identified as Nusrat Parveen. In the footage, Nitish Kumar is seen asking her about her headscarf after handing over the appointment letter and is seen pulling down her hijab himself. The woman appeared visibly shocked by the Chief Minister’s action.

The Bihar CM distribution ceremony of appointment letters for 1283 AYUSH doctors (Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic, and Unani) was held at ‘Samvad’ in the Chief Minister’s Office.