Mumbai BMC Elections 2026: Who gained from reunion of Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of NCP?

Who benefits in the Mumbai-BMC Election 2026 after NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar came together with his nephew Ajit Pawar and blessed him? Early trends have shown that the BJP-led Mahayuti has surged ahead in 109 seats and the BJP is most likely to emerge as the single largest party. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS combine is leading at 67, and the Congress is ahead at 11 seats. It is clear that the Mahayuti alliance is the biggest beneficiary of the Pawars coming together. A cursory evaluation shows that the combined strength of BJP, Eknath Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP helped consolidate votes across Mumbai.

BMC Election 2026

The trends so far show the saffron party emerging as the single largest party in the BMC Election 2026. With this, the saffron party has not only consolidated its position within the alliance, it may also become independent of their support for forming the municipal corporation in the city of opportunities. Though the alliance is most likely to remain intact with all parties sharing the corporation, the NCP may find it difficult to bargain hard. It is ironic that uncle Sharad Pawar's support may weaken Ajit Pawar and his party in the internal dynamics of the alliance. 

It is also interesting to see that after exploiting the benefit of Pawar senior, the BJP leaders may soon harp on the magic wand of Prime Minister Narendra and his popularity. They may also emphasise the benefit of the "double engine" that may move one more step forward, making it the "triple engine" for growth and development. However, till now, the leaders from Mahayuti have interpreted the mandate as a reaffirmation of confidence in their development-driven governance model. However, they can not deny that the Pawars’ participation boosted the alliance’s organisational and voter outreach strength. 

Reunion of Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar

Known for its political opportunism and the study of time to hit hard, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena also benefits indirectly from a broader social coalition against the opposition. As Sharad Pawar's politics is based on the support of farmers and the agriculture sector, including the massive support of the sugar lobby, it has become clear that the traditional regional and agrarian vote banks have rallied behind the alliance and provided a wider and deeper reach to the Mahayuti. It helped counter the Thackeray alliance’s identity politics narrative.

The coming together of the factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar has also added broader caste and rural-urban support bases, particularly where the NCP traditionally has influence. In earlier civic body elections, held outside Mumbai, such as in the Pune region, such cooperation between Pawar factions strengthened their position and mitigated the fragmentation of anti-incumbent votes. Pune Sakal Editor Sheetal Pawar told the BBC Marathi, "The Pune election seemed one-sided for the BJP. However, as the election progressed, Ajit Pawar's voice was seen increasing. He also occupied space in the media." It may be considered in light of the fact that in the last BMC election, held in 2017, the BJP was in power in both the municipal corporations. They had more than 100 corporators.