BMC Polls Jan 15: Thackeray Brothers Unite, Sena Factions Face Off

• Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election scheduled for January 15, 2026, with results on January 16.
• Elections will also cover 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils, and 336 panchayat samitis.
• This marks the first BMC election since the 2022 Shiv Sena split, featuring a contest with the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
• Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have united to contest the BMC polls together.
• The Supreme Court mandated all local body elections be completed by January 31, 2026; the BMC is Asia's wealthiest civic body with a Rs 74,427 crore budget for 2025-26.

Why It Matters: It decides control of Asia's richest civic body after a significant political split.