Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
The BJP registered emphatic victories in seven municipal corporations in Haryana, while its nominees were leading in two other civic bodies in the recently held elections. The Congress, which was hoping to improve its electoral fortunes after a defeat in the 2024 Assembly polls, suffered another setback. The BJP candidates won with large margins in Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonipat, and Ambala. The BJP was also leading in Yamunanagar and Panipat. In Manesar, an Independent candidate, Inderjeet Yadav, won the mayoral election. The results are seen as a major setback for the Congress, which has been facing internal turmoil and factionalism.
West Bengal minister Sujit Bose was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for nearly nine hours in connection with the alleged civic body recruitment scam.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to complete the stalled local body polls by January 31, 2026, criticizing the commission for non-compliance with previous orders.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis orchestrated a significant victory for the BJP in the recent civic polls, solidifying his position as a key strategist and influential leader within the party.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray to finalize seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming civic polls. The meeting occurred as the deadline for filing nominations ended. The alliance aims to challenge the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
The BJP has secured significant victories in the Haryana municipal corporation elections, winning in Ambala and Sonipat, and leading in Panchkula. The party also won the president's post in Sampla, a stronghold of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, where the Congress did not field a candidate.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde launched a veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray, invoking characters from a film to criticize Thackeray's leadership and policies ahead of upcoming municipal elections. Shinde highlighted government initiatives and defended his position, while also criticizing the opposition's performance.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress has filed fresh police complaints against dissident leader Ritabrata Banerjee and his associates. The complaints accuse the rebels of illegally using the party's name, symbol, and designations to mislead workers, marking a significant escalation in the month-long internal struggle following the assembly poll defeat.
Punjab's AAP president, Aman Arora, has criticised Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for alleged misconduct and objectionable behaviour towards police personnel in Dhuri, while Bittu accuses the AAP government of misusing the police to target BJP workers.
Punjab AAP president Aman Arora criticised Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for alleged misconduct and objectionable behaviour towards police personnel in Dhuri, following an incident where Bittu intervened in the detention of a BJP leader during the election silent period.
Newly appointed Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon has outlined his plans to strengthen the party in the state, aiming for a majority in the 2027 assembly elections. He criticised the ruling AAP government and promised to address key issues such as crop diversification and law and order.
The MDMK general council, led by Vaiko, has announced its decision to withdraw from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. The party accused the DMK of attempting to prop up an AIADMK government, which they claim goes against the people's mandate and the alliance's secular ideology.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
The BJP is ahead in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar for which voting was held on Sunday.
Actor-politician Vijay is reportedly considering contesting from either Velachery or Virugambakkam constituencies in Chennai for the upcoming Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, according to sources within his party, TVK.
Allowing the petition, the court directed that polls be held by December following issuance of a fresh notification.
The ruling BJP is confident of bettering its 2017 performance, especially with the new UP party chief, Bhupendra Chaudhary, at the helm of affairs, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Authorities in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar demolished illegal constructions belonging to AIMIM corporator Matin Patel, who is accused of harbouring Nida Khan, wanted in connection with a Nashik TCS case.
AIMIM leader Matin Patel faces potential cancellation of his corporatorship for allegedly harbouring Nida Khan, accused in a sexual harassment and forced conversion case. Authorities are investigating alleged illegal construction at his residence, which could lead to his disqualification under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini celebrated the BJP's victory in the recent civic body elections, attributing the win to public confidence in the party's development-focused governance and rejection of the Congress' negative politics.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut announced a joint squad with MNS to 'thrash' dual and bogus voters during the upcoming civic polls, raising concerns about potential violence.
The ruling Congress on Thursday swept the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls with a two-third majority by winning 24 wards out of the total 34, wresting the prestigious civic body from the BJP.
Police in Surat are investigating an alleged interstate hawala-linked political funding network involving Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries, with Rs 1.25 crore reportedly routed from Delhi to Surat ahead of Gujarat local body polls. The AAP has dismissed the claims as a conspiracy by the ruling BJP.
High drama was witnessed on the first day of the budget session of the West Bengal assembly on Monday as Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was forced to table his inaugural address with Bharatiya Janata Party legislators staging a protest in the House over alleged violence in the recently concluded civic elections in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, stating the Mumbai civic body election is a fight for their political survival. He also defended development projects and economic growth under the current government.
An unverified audio clip where Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Narayan Kuche is purportedly heard discussing over phone distribution of money during the civic elections went viral on Thursday, with the legislator claiming it was a doctored recording.
Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad announced the party's intention to contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, signaling a potential strain within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Despite threats by militants and separatist groups, civic polls in Baramulla and Kupwara districts of Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully on Saturday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued the final gazette notification for redrawing of municipal wards in Delhi, paving the way for civic polls in the city.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation demolished alleged illegal constructions at the residence and other properties of AIMIM corporator Matin Patel, who is accused of harbouring Nida Khan, wanted in connection with a TCS case.
Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has apologised to the Scheduled Caste community for his recent objectionable remarks, stating that as a minister, he should not have used such language.
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has bagged a mayor's post and is leading in all 10 corporations including Chennai as counting of votes, polled during the two-phased Tamil Nadu civic polls on October 17 and 19, was taken up on Friday.
Mumbai has the richest Municipality in the country. And adding colour and spice to the civic polls that are to take place on February 16, are several elements from the under world. Interestingly, it is not the criminals themselves who are in the fray, but their kin. Rediff.com's Ganesh Nadar talks to some of them.
The run-up to the polls, which should have been a humdrum affair, became a cause celebre after it was marred by violence, arrests, sit-ins in far-away Delhi and a Supreme Court intervention asking officials to ensure peaceful polling.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a severe leadership crisis as former minister Jyoti Priya Mallick resigned from all party organisational posts citing health, and senior North Bengal leader Goutam Deb stepped down as mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, amidst widespread internal rifts and electoral setbacks.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday appeared heading to victory in the three newly-created municipal corporations in the capital, cruising ahead of Congress in the civic body polls. While it was poised to win North and South Corporations comfortably, in the East, the BJP looks to be emerging as the single largest party and is confident of getting the support of independents to cross the midway mark.
Communist Party of India-Marxist and Trinamool Congress workers clashed on Sunday during the fiercely-contested West Bengal civic polls, which recorded a high voter turnout of around 75 per cent. The polls, seen as a semi-final before the 2011 Assembly elections, were held in 81 civic bodies and in the 141-ward Kolkata Municipal Corporation involving an electorate of 85 lakh.
With the total number of municipal wards set to be revised following the passage of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022 in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, experts have said that the civic polls in New Delhi is unlikely to take place before a year from now as a fresh delimitation exercise will be required.
