Mahayuti set for BMC sweep, exit polls show

All exit polls predicted a clear sweep for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, which took place on Thursday, and a defeat of the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

According to My Axis India exit polls, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is poised to win 131-151 seats and garner 42 per cent of vote share in the country’s commercial capital. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance of Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray is expected to win 58-68 seats and get a vote share of 32 per cent. The Congress-Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha alliance is expected to win 12-16 seats with a vote per cent of 13 per cent. Others, which comprise independents and small players like NCP, AIMIM, and the left parties, are likely to win 6-12 seats, it said. There are 227 wards in Mumbai.

The Saam TV exit polls have predicted that the BJP is likely to win 84 seats, while its alliance partner Shiv Sena could bag 35 seats in Mumbai. Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS will get 65 and 10 seats, respectively. NCP (SP), which is part of the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance, is likely to get two seats. In Pune, the BJP will be largest party and is expected to win 70 seats, while the NCP could get 55. The NCP (SP), which had tied up with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, is poised to win 10 seats. The Shiv Sena, which contested the polls independently, could win 12 seats, according to the Saam TV exit polls. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS, which contested polls independently, are expected to win five and two seats, respectively, in the state’s second largest city, while the Congress could see victory in eight wards.

In neighbouring Thane, considered to be the stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, where the Shiv Sena and BJP contested together, the former is expected to bag 72 seats and its alliance partner 26. The Sena (UBT) and MNS are likely to bag three and two seats respectively, the Saam TV exit polls said. According to the Jubilant Data Studio exit polls, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is likely to win between 127-155 seats in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance could win seats in the range of 44-64. The Congress-led alliance could win 16-25 seats. In Pune, it said the BJP could win 79-92 seats, followed by NCP (48-61).  

The Shiv Sena could win eight-eleven seats, NCP (SP) (four-six), Shiv Sena (UBT) (four to five) MNS (zero-two), Congress (11-14). In Thane, the Shiv Sena is expected to win seats in the range of 69-76, the BJP could bag 26-30 seats, Sena UBT (zero-two), MNS (zero to one), NCP (SP) (12-16) and NCP (six-eight) and Congress (one-two), according to the Jubilant Data Studio exit polls. As per the JVC exit polls, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance could win 138 seats and bag vote share in the range of 42-45 per cent in the metropolis. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance could win 59 seats and get vote share in the range of 34-37 per cent. The Congress-led alliance could win 23 seats and get a vote share of 13-15 per cent.