Mumbai Municipal Election : Will Shiv Sena's Fort Break or Will History Remain? Remembering the fierce battle of 2017?

The Mumbai municipal election is not just about the administration of the municipal corporation, but is considered an important stage that determines the direction of the state's politics. After the voting on January 15, today, January 16, the counting of votes is taking place, and the entire state is focused on who will finally take control of the Mumbai municipal corporation.

Since 1985, the Shiv Sena has been in power in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. This has been considered a stronghold of the Shiv Sena for nearly four decades. However, in the 2017 election, this fort was seriously shaken for the first time. In that election, the BJP gave a tough fight to the Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena won 84 seats, while BJP won 82 seats. In the 227-seat assembly, no one got a clear majority. Therefore, in the end, both parties had to compromise, and the BJP decided to participate in power by allowing the Shiv Sena to retain the mayor's post.

However, significant changes occurred in the state's politics thereafter. The alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena broke, Shiv Sena split, and the political equations completely changed. Against this backdrop, this year's Mumbai municipal election has become extremely important. BJP is now openly dreaming of breaching this traditional stronghold of Shiv Sena and installing its first mayor in Mumbai. In the 2017 election, Congress emerged as the third-largest party. Congress won 31 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party secured 9, MNS got 7 seats. The Samajwadi Party won 6 seats, while AIMIM had to be content with 2 seats. Independent candidates also won 6 seats.

In this year's election, a total of 1,729 candidates are contesting for 227 seats in Mumbai. The city has a total of 10,344,315 eligible voters, including 5,516,707 men, 4,826,509 women, and 1,077 transgender voters. The results announced today will clarify which party will have the next mayor of Mumbai and what new chapter will be written in Mumbai's power dynamics.