Mumbai: With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections tentatively scheduled for January 2026, the political landscape of India's richest civic body is once again under intense scrutiny. Analysing the results of the five previous BMC polls, from 2002 to 2017, reveals a consistent pattern of high seat accumulation by the Shiv Sena, a growing challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and fluctuating performance among other major parties like the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The BMC is contested across 227 electoral wards, requiring 114 seats for an outright majority.

The 2017 Election: A Near Tie & Alliance Formation

The most recent election in 2017 was characterised by its unprecedented competitiveness, as the Shiv Sena and t

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