Maharashtra’s political battleground has heated up as vote counting for the crucial local body elections entered a decisive phase on Sunday, December 21, with early trends clearly favouring the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The results so far suggest that the contest between Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is tilting decisively in favour of the government-backed combine.
The elections, spread across 288 urban local bodies, were conducted in two phases on December 2 and December 20 under the supervision of the Maharashtra State Election Commission. These polls covered 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats across all six administrative divisions of the state. Counting of votes began at 10 am amid tight security arrangements.
An electorate of over 1.07 crore voters participated in the civic polls, reflecting significant public engagement. The voter base included more than 53.7 lakh men, over 53.2 lakh women, and 775 voters from other categories. Polling took place at around 13,355 booths across Konkan, Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, and Nagpur divisions, covering both long-established municipal councils and recently upgraded nagar panchayats.
As per trends available by early afternoon, the Mahayuti alliance has emerged as the frontrunner, leading in nearly 192 local bodies. The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken the lead in over 100 councils, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has shown a strong presence in several urban centres. The Nationalist Congress Party faction within the alliance has also made notable gains.
In contrast, the opposition MVA — comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) — is leading in fewer than 50 local bodies so far, indicating a challenging outcome for the alliance in this round of civic elections.
Counting is currently underway in 253 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, with results from the remaining bodies expected later in the day. Nagar panchayat trends also reflect Mahayuti’s advantage, with the alliance maintaining a comfortable lead over the opposition.
One of the standout performances of the day came from Gadchiroli district, where the BJP secured victories in all three municipal councils — Gadchiroli, Armori, and Desaiganj — reinforcing the party’s growing footprint in the region.
With several results still awaited, the overall direction of the verdict points towards a strong endorsement for the ruling alliance ahead of next year’s municipal corporation elections, which will include 29 major civic bodies across Maharashtra.
