Bhiwandi, February 18, 2026 — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a significant blow in the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation ahead of the crucial mayoral elections, as nine of its 22 corporators broke away and extended support to the Congress-led alliance.
This development has tilted the balance in favor of the Congress, allowing the opposition alliance to cross the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member civic body. The defecting corporators have formed a separate group called the Bhiwandi Secular Front (BSF) and pledged their backing to the Congress-NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) coalition.
A Congress functionary confirmed the shift, stating that the alliance, bolstered by the BSF, now holds the numbers required to elect its mayor and deputy mayor. The move comes amid reported differences between the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, despite their alliance during the recent civic polls.
The Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation elections, held last month, resulted in a fractured mandate with no single party securing an outright majority. The Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 30 seats, followed by the BJP with 22, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 12, NCP (SP) with 12, and the Samajwadi Party with 6. Smaller outfits and independents hold the remaining seats.
Initially, the Congress had allied with the NCP (SP) and SP under the banner of a secular front, but uncertainties persisted over full support from all partners. The addition of the nine BJP defectors has now provided the Congress camp with a clear edge.
The BJP, which contested the civic polls in alliance with the Shiv Sena, has seen cracks emerge at the local level. Notably, both Mahayuti allies (BJP and Shinde Sena) had fielded separate candidates for mayor and deputy mayor earlier this week, highlighting internal rifts despite their state-level partnership.
The mayoral election in Bhiwandi is now poised to favor the Congress-led grouping, with the party looking set to install its nominee. The Congress has fielded Tariq Momin as its mayoral candidate in recent nominations.
This setback for the BJP underscores the fluid and often unpredictable nature of post-poll alliances in Maharashtra's civic bodies, where local dynamics can override broader political alignments. The final outcome will be determined in the upcoming mayoral polls, expected soon.
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