The BMC elections in Mumbai scheduled to be held in mid-January, 2026 are likely to be delayed by a few weeks.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, amid several complaints and protests from opposition parties and feedback from civic officials, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) is likely to extend the timeline for finalising the draft electoral rolls for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The move is expected to push the polls back by at least a couple of weeks.
Opposition parties in Mumbai, including the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), have alleged significant anomalies and errors in the recently published draft voter list, including duplicate entries, deletion of names, and shifting of voters to other wards.
BMC officials who have noted the errors, have also communicated to the SEC the difficulties they are facing in finalising the rolls. The civic body has reportedly submitted a list of wards where voters have been moved to other wards, after receiving a lot of complaints from voters. The BMC commissioner has also sought corrections to the draft list.
“We are revising our communication to the BMC, empowering them to make corrections to the draft list. The exercise is expected to take a few more days and may delay the BMC elections. We will either have to work until the last few days of the January 31 deadline or seek an extension from the Supreme Court,” said state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
The Supreme Court has stipulated a deadline of 31st January, 2026 to conduct the polls to all municipalities and local bodies in Maharashtra and finish the election process.
On November 13, the SEC extended the deadline to publish the final voters’ list from November 28 to December 5 at the BMC’s request. With further anomalies and errors emerging, the civic body has now sought additional time. “Though the opposition has sought a three-week extension, the SEC may give the BMC a one-week extension. In that case, the announcement of the election may be delayed, resulting in a delay to the actual conduct of polls in Mumbai,” said a BMC official, who requested anonymity.
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