Fadnavis's roadshow, Thackeray cousins' reunion as poll battle rages | Maharashtra local body poll highlights

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: CM Devendra Fadnavis held a huge roadshow in Bhosari, Pimpri Chinchwad of Maharashtra as the battle for civic body polls gains momentum.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Expressing displeasure on deputy CM Ajit Pawar's recent remarks against the BJP, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said he should have exercised restraint. "I have a lot of patience, and it will not break. We had decided that as allies, we would not speak against each other. But Ajitdada didn't exercise restraint. It doesn't behove him to pass critical remarks in Pune. I haven't spoken against allies or others. I will respond when I come to Mumbai," Fadnavis was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: As the battle for upcoming BMC polls heats up, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asserted the influence of the Thackeray family in Maharashtra politics and said that they can never be wiped out. Raut’s remarks come ahead of the much-anticipated Maharashtra’s civic body polls slated for January 15, which also includes the election to Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. This is also just months after the Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, reunited after a gap of two decades. Ahead of the high-stakes poll for BMC, India’s richest civic body, both the cousins have come together to campaign on the plank of Marathi asmita or pride. Read full story here

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Taking potshots at Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the party workers are feeling abandoned as the party leader Uddhav Thackeray is not travelling out of Mumbai. He also accused the Congress and later the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of stalling development in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and introduced corruption similar to that in Mumbai, PTI reported. “The water problem in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar remained unresolved due to corruption by the Congress and later by the MVA government,” he was quoted as saying.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: CM Fadnavis on Sunday said those party corporators who will help beneficiaries of Ladki Bahin Yojana become "Lakhpati Didis" will be rewarded with postings in the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC). The Ladki Bahin Yojana is a state government scheme under which eligible women beneficiaries get ₹1500 as aid per month, while the 'Lakhpati Didi' initiative belongs to the Centre and aims to make women members of Self Help Groups have a minimum earning of ₹1 lakh per annum. “Those who transform Ladki Bahin beneficiaries into Lakhpati Didis will be given good posts in the Nashik Municipal Corporation,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Dattatray Parab in an interview with HT said the upcoming local body polls are crucial for the party as it will determine its political. “This is the party’s first BMC election after the split in 2022. The BJP is no longer our poll ally. We are contesting this election with a sense of déjà vu – talking of the Marathi manoos, which was our agenda in the 1968 municipal election. This suits us well as it evokes Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy,” he said in the interview.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Asserting the influence of Thackeray family in Maharashtra politics, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader on Sunday said the family cannot be wiped out. “We can still shut down Mumbai in 10 minutes,” he said in an interview with NDTV.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: After the BJP-Congress alliance drama, the 12 suspended corporators who were suspended from Maharashtra's Ambernath municipal council joined the BJP on Thursday.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Amid the ongoing preps for the Maharashtra local body polls, being held on January 15, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Dagdu Sakpal drifted from the party to join Eknath Shinde's faction.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday expressed confidence in the BJP-Shiv Sena victory in the upcoming BMC elections, saying they would win more than 90 per cent of the 42 seats in North Mumbai. Goyal expressed strong confidence in the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) alliance, noting that Mumbai residents are satisfied with the governance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the current state government leaders.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that the ruling BJP and NCP would have given a ticket to Dawood Ibrahim's relatives if they had met with him. While addressing a public rally here, he said that the Mahayuti can't win elections without hooliganism. Raut argued that Pune, once known for its beauty, is known as a "city of goons".

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Following CM Fadnavis's claim that maximum number of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas were identified in Maharashtra, Congress reacted and asked him to make the data public. “If the government has indeed identified the highest number, it should release the figures,” Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant was quoted as saying by PTI.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: The BJP on Sunday reportedly suspended 18 members of its Latur unit for six years for allegedly violating party discipline and disrupting organisational functioning. The majority of them are contesting the upcoming Latur Municipal Corporation elections independently, PTI reported.

The conduct of certain members of the local BJP unit was found to be detrimental to party discipline, its city district president Ajit Patil Kavekar was quoted as saying.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Mahayuti government will prioritise development for Marathis Shinde said the government would build 30-35 lakh homes, make Mumbai a Fintech hub, strengthen roads, and invest ₹17,000 crore to make the city pollution-free. At the launch of Mahayuti's BMC poll manifesto, Shinde said efforts are underway to make Mumbai slum-free. "Welfare schemes launched. Balasaheb Thackeray's vision lives on. Our development is for Marathis. We'll build multiplex theaters for them! Marathis, we'll do 10 times more for you...Mumbai needs to be brought back to its people. A slum-free Mumbai was Balasaheb's dream. We're working on SRA in Ghatkopar for 17,000 people," Shinde was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: CM Fadnavis, while launching Mahayuti's BMC poll manifesto said the AI tool to identify and deport ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ will be ready in six months, “We'll free Mumbai from Bangladeshis. We've deported the highest so far. With AI, we'll identify and deport 100% Bangladeshis. AI tool will be ready in six months,” Fadnavis said.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: The BJP-led Mahayuti's BMC poll manifesto includes promises ranging from “technology-led governance” to making India's financial capital "a global powerhouse", to "freeing" the city from an alleged influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The manifesto also promised a 50 per cent concession on fares for women in BEST buses. Read full story here.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: As CM Fadnavis launched the alliance manifesto for the upcoming BMC polls, transport and women's safety were a key highlight as Fadnavis said the alliance aims to expand the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) fleet from around 5,000 to 10,000 buses, switch to electric vehicles and introduce a 50 per cent concession on fares for women travellers, PTI reported.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: The Mahayuti manifesto highlights ‘midi’ and 'mini services to improve last-mile connectivity around Metro and railway stations.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: As Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis unveiled the Mahayuti manifesto for the upcoming BMC polls, he said BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI (A) alliance would combine "Japanese technology" with local administration to tackle chronic civic problems and bring services to citizens' mobile phones.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Upon releasing the Mahayuti manifesto, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has vowed to work with IIT Bombay to work on an AI tool to identify Bangladeshi migrants.

"We will free Mumbai of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. With the help of IIT, we will develop an AI tool to identify Bangladeshi migrants," said Fadnavis.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: The Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, released its manifesto for the BMC elections on Sunday. Among the key promises made by the ruling alliance, focus has been brought upon healthcare, public transport and slum development.

For Healthcare, the alliance has vowed to strengthen BMC run hospitals with better infrastructure and affordable healthcare for all Mumbai resident.

Meanwhile for slum redevelopment, the alliance has pushed for affordable housing projects, which will have basic amenities.

The ruling alliance has also called fir metro network expansion and better last-mile connectivity.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: Former MLA Dagdu Sakpal has quit Shiv Sena (UBT) and has joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, ahead of the BMC elections.

Sakpal formally joined the party in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday.

This comes after, 12 suspended Congress corporators from Maharashtra's Ambernath municipal council on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray accused the BJP of indulging in "dirty and communal politics", claiming that the party has failed to address key public issues.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: The Mahayuti alliance, led by BJJP, has at least released its manifesto for the BMC polls. Released on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the manifesto focuses on areas of urban infrastructure, public transport, healthcare, housing and slum rehabilitation, environment, and governance and transparency.

Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026 Live: NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has launched a scathing attack on the ruling Mahayuti government, claiming that while Thane has been projected as a "civilised" city, issues of water shortage, dumping grounds, and other civic problems have remained unresolved.

"But where exactly did this money go? Why are basic facilities still not available to citizens even after so many years?" Sule asked, alleging that houses and cars of those in power have become bigger, but the problems of citizens have remained unchanged.