At least five key wards in North Mumbai’s suburbs saw direct contests between BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) during the 2026 BMC polls, while at least nine key wards in North and Central Mumbai saw battles between the two Shiv Senas, one led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the other by Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
While the BJP-Sena combo won seats in all five wards where it faced off against the Sena (UBT), Shinde Sena did not manage to break into the Thackeray Bastion in South Mumbai. Out of the nine wards where the two Senas faced each other, Shinde’s party won four seats in the suburbs, and UBT retained seats in their stronghold in Worli and Prabhadevi.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a majority in the 227-member body, ending the long-standing dominance of the Thackeray-led Sena. While BJP secured 89 seats, Shinde secured 29, Sena (UBT) secured 65, MNS secured six seats, and Congress secured 24 seats.
According to experts, BJP strategically won seats with landslide numbers in areas dominated by North Indian demographics, including the Gujarati- and Marwari-speaking communities. A senior BJP leader told Sunday mid-day, “The issue of the Marathi identity, popularised by the Thackerays, played a big role in determining the mandate in South and South Central Mumbai. This area is dominated by a Marathi-speaking demographic and has always been Sena’s stronghold. In the suburbs, the demographic there has voted by seeing the good work of our CM and PM.”
The leader pointed out that the Island City of Mumbai (from Colaba to Mahim and to Mayunga-Sion) comprises 57 electoral wards. BJP has won around 10 seats in this area. Congress won a few seats, while the rest are with Sena (UBT).
Interestingly, the candidates who won with the highest vote margins all belong to BJP, and are in the suburbs. According to political analyst Sanjay Patil, “There are pockets in North Mumbai where Sena held dominance. After the party split, leaders who cultivated their stronghold in the area moved to the Shinde Sena. Technically, the party has retained its voter base in the area.”
BJP vs Thackerays square off
Ward 13: Rani Dwivedi – BJP
Asavari Patil – Sena (UBT)
Ward 15: Jignasa Shah – BJP
Jayshree Edwin Praveen Kumar – Sena (UBT)
Ward 19: Dakshata Kavathankar – BJP
Leena Subhash Gudhekar – Sena (UBT)
Ward 46: Yogita Koli – BJP
Snehita Dehalkar – MNS
Ward 227: Gauravi Narvekar – BJP
Rehana Shaikh – Sena (UBT)
Two Senas go to war
Ward 4: Dattaram Mangesh Pangare – Sena
versus Raju Mulla (Shiv Sena UBT)
Ward 6: Diksha Karkar – Sena
Sanjana Vengurlekar -Sena (UBT)
Ward 11: Aditi Khursunge – Sena
Kavita Mane – MNS
Ward 18: Sandhya Doshi Sakhre -Sena
Sadhichha More – MNS
Ward 153: Minakshi Anil Patankar -Sena (UBT)
Tanvi Tushar Kate – Shiv Sena
Ward 191: Vishakha Raut – Sena (UBT)
Priya Sada Sarvankar – Shiv Sena
Ward 198: Aditi Aboli Khade – Sena (UBT)
Vandana Gawli – Shiv Sena
Ward 199: Kishori Pednekar – Sena (UBT)
Rupal Rajesh Kusale – Shiv Sena
Ward 203: Shraddha Pednekar – Sena (UBT)
Samidha Sandeeo Bhalekar – Shiv Sena