BMC elections 2026: Ashraf Azmi named Congress group leader in Mumbai civic body

The Congress on Monday appointed threetime corporator Ashraf Azmi as the group leader of the party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMCAzmi who won from Kurla has been made the Congress group leader in the new civic bodyThe Congress which allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi VBA RSP and RPI Gavai in the recently held polls logged its historically lowest tally managing just 24 seats in the 227member BMCThe BJPShiv Sena alliance won a clear majority in the cashrich civic body clinching 89 and 29 seats respectively while the Shiv Sena UBT won 65 seats and its ally MNS emerged victorious on sixMark of respect to Bal Thackeray Eknath Shinde hints at Shiv Senas claim to Mumbai mayors postMeanwhile citing emotions of Shivsainiks Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday hinted at Shiv Senas claim to the Mumbai mayors post projecting it as a mark of respect to Bal Thackeray in his birth centenary year amid a reported tussle with ally BJP reported PTIAware of the political interpretations of his remarks Shinde attributed the demand to a section of Sena workers emphasising that Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor reported PTISimilarly mayors of the Mahayuti alliance will be installed in those civic bodies where the Shiv Sena and BJP had contested the elections together he told reportersBalasaheb Thackerays birth centenary year starts from January 23 Some Shivsainiks have the feeling that a Shiv Sena mayor should be installed in the BMC he said reported PTIHe stressed that the Shiv Sena would not take any decision that goes against the peoples mandate emphasising that the Shiv Sena and BJP had fought the Mumbai civic elections as an allianceAmid a debate over the exact motive behind Shiv Sena shifting its newly elected members to a posh hotel in Mumbai Shinde scotched reports of new political equations emerging in Mumbai or elsewhere in MaharashtraOfficially the Shiv Sena maintains that the newly elected members were shifted to the hotel for an orientation workshop about the functioning of the Brihanmumbai Municipal CorporationThe move followed the declaration of the BMC poll results last week which showed that the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena had emerged as the second largest party after the BJP by winning 65 seatsThe BJP won 89 seats and its ally the Shiv Sena 29 handing the Mahayuti combine a narrow majority in the 227member BMCWith inputs from PTI