Maharashtra municipal election 2026: Campaigning ends as state set for high-stakes battle on Jan 15

On the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra municipal elections, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a high-energy roadshow in Nagpur on Tuesday. Riding a bullet, the Chief Minister participated in the rally under heavy security. The roadshow began at Bharat Mata Chowk, passed through Vividh Chowk and concluded near the iconic Shivaji statue in Mahal. Speaking to India TV during the event, Fadnavis asserted that a Mahayuti Mayor would take charge in Mumbai after the elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut hit out at Devendra Fadnavis over the latter's "existence in danger" remarks against Thackeray brothers, saying that the Maharashtra Chief Minister should worry about himself since the Thackeray family was capable of handling threats against them. While addressing a press conference, he said that Fadnavis' remarks questioning the work done by the Thackeray brothers for Marathi 'manus' was actually a challenge to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. "Devendra Bhau, don't worry about us. The Thackeray family is capable of handling threats against them. We are not scared like you. We don't create a bogus voter list just to win elections. We don't distribute money as you do. You worry about yourself," Raut said.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe has expressed confidence that her party would secure a "good number" of seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation, enough to "influence decision-making" in the civic body. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, a constituent of the Mahayuti government, is contesting the January 15 polls to the 165-member Pune civic body separately as an alliance with its ally BJP could not materialise due to disagreement on seat-sharing.

Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar today condemned the Brihanmumbai Municipal Elections (BMC) being given a 'communal angle.' As he reaffirmed that he has 'a secular mindset', he said that in such a diverse country like India, everyone is equally a citizen. "I do not like this at all, I have a secular mindset. The ideology of Ambedkar does not teach us this. I just have to say that our country is so big, and those who stay in this country are all Indians. If someone is committing treason against the country, action should be taken against them, and they should be given the death penalty, a new law should be made," Ajit Pawar told ANI. 

Ahead of the elections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made strong remarks about Marathi identity, asserting that the civic body's leadership would remain in Marathi hands. Countering Opposition claims over threats to the "Marathi manush," Fadnavis said it was not the Marathi community but certain political forces whose existence was at stake, underscoring that Maharashtra belongs to all Marathi people, not any single group. "It's not the Marathi manush whose existence is in danger. It's you whose existence is at stake. I want to say this again that you are not the whole Maharashtra. You are not the only Marathi here. I want to reiterate that only Marathi person will be at the helm of affairs in BMC. Only Marathi will lead," Fadnavis said.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani announced that around 1,700 candidates across 227 wards are participating in this election. The BMC Commissioner further declared that the civic body is fully prepared to conduct the municipal elections. "BMC is all prepared to conduct these elections. Voting will be held on 15th January and counting on 16th. There are 227 wards in total. 1700 candidates are contesting," said Gagrani.

With the campaigning for the Maharashtra local body polls set to conclude today, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has repeated the charge of being large scale corruption in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), decrying how one of the richest corporations is having so much graft, with the basic facilities not reaching the people. Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district, said that the locals have been facing problems regarding the tanker mafia in their area, which does not allow them to get proper water facilities. Similarly, multiple children are also indulging in criminal activities, Pawar said, while pollution, clean roads, and clean water is not being worked on.

On the final day of election campaigning in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will hold a roadshow in Nagpur from 11:30 am, during which he will ride a motorcycle himself. Later, at 1:30 pm, the Chief Minister will address a campaign rally in Pune.

While speaking at an event in Raipur, Bollywood actor Govinda commented on the upcoming BMC elections and said, "I have told Shinde sahab and Fadnavis ji that Mumbai will emerge like a dream world. The time has come for it to become that dream world." Notably, Govinda was named among Shiv Sena's star campaigners for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. 

All 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will go to the polls on January 15. As a result, today marks the final day of campaigning across all these regions. With the campaign period coming to an end, every political party is making a full-fledged effort to maximise its outreach to voters.