In a significant political development ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena have finalised their seat-sharing agreement. The deal, announced late on Monday night, December 30, 2025, sees the BJP contesting 137 seats and its ally, the Shiv Sena, fighting on 90 seats for the 227-member civic body.
Seat-Sharing Pact Ends Prolonged Negotiations
The announcement was made following a late-night meeting between BJP’s Mumbai City president, Amit Satam, and Sena leader Rahul Shewale. Satam stated that the seat-sharing talks for all 227 seats were complete. He confirmed that both parties would allocate some seats from their respective quotas to their smaller allied partners.
The candidates from both the BJP and Shiv Sena are set to file their nomination papers on Tuesday, December 31. The allies plan to campaign jointly, with the stated aim of securing victory for the 'Maha Yuti' alliance and installing its mayor in Mumbai. This agreement draws the curtain on extended discussions between the two parties over seat distribution for the polls, scheduled for January 15, with counting on January 16.
Opposition Alliances Ramp Up Candidate Selection
As the deadline for filing nominations ends on Tuesday, other political parties were also in a frenzy to finalise their candidates. The Indian National Congress released its first list of 87 candidates for the civic polls on Monday. This came a day after the party formally announced an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).
The Congress list has a strong focus on the western suburbs of Mumbai, including areas like Dahisar, Kandivli, Magathane, Charkop, Malad, Versova, and Andheri West. The party has largely finalised candidates from constituencies represented by its sitting MLAs, such as Aslam Sheikh, Amin Patel, and Jyoti Gaikwad.
So far, the Congress, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, NCP (SP), VBA, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have released their candidate lists. The BJP, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) are yet to officially release their lists, but have been actively issuing AB forms, which denote party approval for a candidate.
Internal Dynamics and Ticket Distribution
The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, began distributing AB forms on Sunday, continuing late into Monday at his residence, Matoshree. Thackeray personally handed over authorisation letters to candidates, directing them to file nominations immediately. The party is learnt to have issued forms to 102 candidates till Monday evening.
Among the prominent recipients were Roshni Gaikwad (Ward 3), Ankit Prabhu (Ward 54), and former corporator Vishakha Raut (Ward 191). However, notable omissions included former mayor Kishori Pednekar, who had not received a form till late Monday evening. Furthermore, AB forms were not issued for the Worli area, represented in the Assembly by Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, with a party functionary stating forms for Worli, Sewri, and Dadar would be issued soon.
The uncertainty in Worli led to the resignation of the local shakha pramukh, Suryakant Koli, after Hemangi Worlikar was reportedly finalised from Ward 193. The ticket distribution process also saw internal murmurs, with reports of a face-off between Sena (UBT) leaders Anil Parab and Varun Sardesai over Bandra (East). Party MP Sanjay Raut, however, dismissed reports of any rift.
Meanwhile, the BJP issued AB forms to over 100 aspirants till Monday evening. Key names include BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s son Neel Somaiya from Mulund West, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar’s brother Makarand and sister Harshita from Colaba, and former corporators Vinod Mishra from Malad and Rohan Rathod from Andheri.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued forms to 24 aspirants. As parties rushed to meet the nomination deadline, scenes of discontent were visible outside Matoshree, with some aspirants staging protests after being denied tickets, highlighting the intense competition for candidacy in India's richest municipal corporation.
