The vote counting, which is expected to start soon, will determine the fate of Mumbai's 227-ward civic corporation after a gap of over six years. The previous BMC polls were held in 2017, while the term of the elected body ended in March 2022.

1,700 candidates contested for 227 seats in Mumbai in an election that was held to constitute a new civic body which will govern India's richest municipal corporation, with an earmarked budget of Rs 74,400 crore for 2025-26.

Where To Watch BMC Election Results 2026 Live

The vote counting process will begin at 10 AM, and the live updates will be available on the Election Commission's official website. The EC website shares all constituency-wise vote tallies, early trends, leading and trailing candidates, and the margin as well throughout the counting process.

Delay In BMC Results Expected. Here's Why

Vote counting for the Mumbai civic polls may take longer this time as the process will be conducted in a phase-wise manner rather than simultaneously across all 227 wards, civic officials said on Thursday, as reported by PTI. In the previous election held in 2017, votes from all wards were counted at the same time.

According to a statement issued by the BMC, the counting of ballots cast on Thursday will commence at 10 am on Friday at 23 designated centres across the city. However, as followed in earlier elections, the counting will not begin for all wards together.

Officials explained that votes from only two wards will be taken up at a time, meaning the process will initially cover just 46 wards when counting begins, instead of all 227 wards. As a result, comprehensive trends for every seat will not be available immediately after the start of counting.

Civic authorities cautioned that the staggered counting method could push the final announcement of results to a much later time in the day.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said the declaration of results for all seats could be delayed, noting that the counting process itself may run about an hour behind schedule. 'It may take around an hour more than usual,' PTI quoted Gagrani as saying.

What Exit Polls Say

Exit polls have projected a clear lead for the BJP-led Mahayuti, indicating a massive win in the BMC elections.

Axis My India

• BJP+: 131-151 seats (close to strong majority)
• UBT+ (Shiv Sena UBT + allies): 58-68 seats
• Congress+: 12-16 seats
• Others: 6-12 seats

JVC Exit Poll Seat projection:

• BJP+: 138
• Shiv Sena (UBT)+: 59
• Congress+: 23
• Others: 7

Author : Apoorva Gupta