BMC polls: Not a single nomination filed on Day 1; over 4,100 forms issued so far

Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) Not a single nomination was filed on Tuesday on the first day of the process for the January 15 elections to the 227-seat Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Though more than 4,100 nomination forms were issued so far, not a single one was submitted to election authorities on the first day of filing papers by candidates, a BMC release said.

BMC commissioner and Maharashtra government-appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani held a meeting with representatives of various political parties at the civic body's headquarters and briefed them on functioning of 23 offices set up across Mumbai to facilitate election-related work.

The release said the highest number of nomination forms - 419 - were distributed from the M-West ward office, followed by 347 from the L ward in Mumbai's eastern suburbs. The lowest numbers were recorded in South Mumbai, with 18 and 25 forms distributed in the A and B wards, respectively.

The 23 offices will remain operational from 11 am to 5 pm between December 23 and December 30 to accept nomination forms from candidates. However, nomination forms will be distributed only till 4 pm on December 30. Nomination papers will neither be distributed nor accepted on December 25 and December 28, said the release.

"The scrutiny of nomination papers received from candidates will be conducted on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, from 11 am onwards. After completion of the scrutiny process, the list of validly nominated candidates will be published immediately," the BMC said.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 2 between 11 am and 3 pm, while the allocation of symbols and publication of the final list of candidates will take place on January 3.

According to the election schedule, polling for the municipal corporation will be held on January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, while counting of votes will take place the next day.

"All stages of scrutiny of nomination papers, verification of validity, withdrawal of candidature and announcement of the final list of candidates will be implemented as per the programme announced by the State Election Commission (SEC). Candidates and political parties must strictly adhere to the prescribed timelines for the nomination process," the release stated.

While filing nomination papers, candidates must submit all required documents, affidavits and mandatory fees within the stipulated time, it added.

India's largest civic body with a budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore for 2025-26 is among 29 municipal corporations in the state going to polls on January 15.

Except the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), other prominent political parties were yet to finalise their candidates for the 227 civic wards.

The AAP has released its first list of 21 candidates and also announced names of 40 star campaigners, which included its top leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.

The undivided Shiv Sena ruled the country's richest civic body for nearly two decades (till 2017) with the BJP as its junior ally. PTI KK ARU RSY