Who is first winner of Mumbai BMC Election 2026? Meet winner from Dharavi Ward 183, check her net worth, education and more

As the counting of votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) electionsin underway, Congress registered its victory with Asha Deepak Kale winning from Dharavi ward 183. The Congress politician became the first declared winner in the 2026 BMC elections, defeating her closest rival, Vaishali Shewale of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, by a margin of 1,450 votes. Her win marked the first confirmed result of the 2026 BMC elections, giving the Congress party an early morale boost in a highly competitive race. 

Following her win, she credited her success to the support of party workers and leadership, specifically mentioning MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Jyoti Gaikwad. “The support of our MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Jyoti Gaikwad is the reason behind this victory. With their blessings, we have won this seat. This is the victory of our party workers," she was quoted as saying by ANI.

 

 January 16, 2026

Who is Asha Deepak Kale? 

Kale is a long-time social worker and active Congress worker in Mumbai, known for addressing local issues in Dharavi, such as water, sanitation, and redevelopment projects. The social activist focused her campaign on addressing local community issues in the BMC election campaign.  The 58-year-old is the wife of former Congress corporator Deepak Kale, who represented the same area for a decade. 

As per her affidavit, she has done a Bachelor's in Commerce from Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya, Wai. Her annual family income, as mentioned in the official document, is Rs 1833570.

Supporters across the state were seen celebrating on Friday as early trends from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections showed candidates leading in several key wards. Congress leader Asha Deepak Kale secured victory in Dharavi Ward 183. 

BMC polls 2026

While the Mahayuti alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, has expanded its lead in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with the trends from preliminary data indicating that the alliance is leading in 117 wards in Mumbai.BJP is leading in 86 seats, Shiv Sena is leading in 31 seats in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena (UBT) alliance has crossed the 68 mark, with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leading in 9, the UBT Sena in 58, and the NCP (SP) in 1.Similarly, Ajit Pawar's NCP is also leading in 1 seat, while the Congress party continued to have a dismal performance with leads in only 10 seats. According to the BMC, UBT's Foram Parmar is trailing in ward 1, while the party candidate Gita Bhandari is leading in ward 32. Shinde's Shiv Sena candidate Varsha Tembelkar is leading in Ward 51. Meanwhile, in the BJP camp, Deepak Tavde, Ujjwal Veti, and Neil Somaiya are leading in their respective wards.

(With ANI inputs)