The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 17 of the 78 seats in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is ahead in 19 seats. The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is leading in one seat.Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra’s only Assembly constituency with a majority Sindhi population, witnessed a complex and closely fought political contest. The election turned into a direct battle as parties adopted different alliance strategies across the city.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena contested the elections in alliance with local leader Omi Kalani, the TOK group and the Sai Party. Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction and the MNS formed a separate alliance. The BJP chose to contest the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation elections independently, fielding candidates in all 78 seats without any alliance.The contest became particularly intense as TOK candidates contested on the Shiv Sena symbol, resulting in a direct fight between BJP and Shiv Sena-backed candidates in all wards.Some of the most closely watched seats saw four heavyweight former BJP corporators switching sides just a month before the elections. These leaders, who had won between two and five terms earlier, quit the BJP and joined Team Omi Kalani. They are contesting on the Shiv Sena symbol under Team Omi Kalani’s quota.The BJP responded by fielding fresh candidates against these experienced leaders, turning these wards into high-stakes contests. The veteran corporators sought votes based on their past work and achievements, while BJP candidates described these wards as party strongholds and accused the defectors of failing to deliver development despite holding key positions earlier.The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation is responsible for managing the city’s infrastructure and urban planning. The elections were held on January 15, 2026, and the results are being declared on January 16, 2026. A total of 5,06,098 voters participated in the election to choose corporators across 20 wards of the city.In the previous UMC elections held in 2017, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 32 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 25 seats. The Secular Alliance of India won 11 seats, the Nationalist Congress Party secured four seats, while smaller parties and independents shared the remaining seats.Ulhasnagar has seen mayors from different political backgrounds over the years. Ganesh Chaudhary served as mayor in 1996, while Jyoti Kalani, a prominent local leader, held the post during the 1990s. Shiv Sena’s Apeksha Patil became mayor in 2014, followed by Leelabai Ashan in 2019. The civic body is currently under administrative rule.The Ulhasnagar election is part of the larger civic polls held after a long gap across Maharashtra, as the terms of most municipal corporations had ended between 2020 and 2023. Elections were conducted for 29 municipal corporations across the state, including nine in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
