January 17, 2026 07:22 AM IST First published on: Jan 17, 2026 at 07:10 AM ISTIf the Mahayuti’s triumph in the November 2024 Assembly elections marked a resurgence for the BJP after the reversal it had suffered in the Lok Sabha elections only months earlier, Friday’s local body poll results confirm a consolidation and deeper penetration of its power in Maharashtra. By emerging as the dominant force in the majority of municipal corporations — including critical hubs like Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur — the BJP has extended its grip to every level of government. In Maharashtra, it has climbed to this position not so much through its own growth, but by fragmenting the Opposition, and also preying upon its allies — there are warning bells in this verdict for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.The BJP’s upper hand in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may mean the end of nearly three decades of Thackeray dominance in the city of the undivided Shiv Sena’s birth. Over the years, in vibrant, cosmopolitan Mumbai, where the Marathi manoos has long been outnumbered, the nativist pitch that formed the core of the Thackeray cousins’ campaign has found increasingly limited resonance. While a segment of the electorate has remained loyal to Uddhav Thackeray, the broader message is clear: Mumbai is a city impatient with politics rooted in resentments and grievances of the past. During the campaign, civic issues — the very heartbeat of municipal governance — were sidelined by the politics of identity and religious polarisation and indiscriminate promises of cash transfers and subsidies. Now, as the dust settles, the incoming administration must face the grim reality of a city severely under strain. From clogged drains to broken toilets, from pot-holed roads to a sputtering bus system, and from sprawling landfills to sewage-choked water bodies, the challenges are immense and urgent.AdvertisementFor the BJP, its spreading footprint must also mean resisting the urge to govern through exclusion. An investigation by this newspaper in December had revealed that 99 per cent of BMC development funds between February 2023 and October 2025 were funnelled into constituencies held by Mahayuti lawmakers, with the lion’s share going to BJP legislators. Such blatant partisanship undermines the spirit of democracy. If the BJP wishes to be true to its mandate, it must be fair and generous to the Opposition — because otherwise, it is the citizen who suffers.