BMC Polls 2026: AAP announces independent fight across 227 Mumbai wards, releases first candidate list

by Webdesk
19 Dec 2025

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced that it will contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for 2026 entirely on its own, fielding candidates in all 227 municipal wards across Mumbai. Party leaders made it clear that AAP will not enter into any alliance with other political parties for the civic polls, signalling a decisive and independent political push in India’s financial capital.

With this announcement, AAP has formally stepped into Mumbai’s civic political arena, positioning itself as an alternative to the established parties that have dominated the city’s municipal governance for decades. Party leaders said their objective is to challenge what they described as long-standing mismanagement and governance failures within the BMC.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, AAP’s Mumbai unit president Preeti Sharma Menon said that despite Mumbai being regarded as India’s “Urbs Prima,” the quality of civic administration has steadily declined over the years. She pointed out that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation operates with an annual budget of ₹74,447 crore, making it the richest civic body in Asia. However, she alleged that the benefits of this massive budget have not translated into improved public services for citizens.

“Mumbaikars pay the highest taxes in the country, but in return they receive substandard civic amenities,” Menon said. She accused the BMC of being riddled with corruption and inefficiency, claiming that essential public services have suffered due to poor governance and lack of accountability.

Menon highlighted several areas of concern, including the closure of BMC-run schools, falling educational standards, and the shortage of functional primary healthcare centres. She also pointed to the increasing burden on public hospitals, which are struggling to cope with rising patient loads, and the steady reduction in the BEST bus fleet, which has impacted public transport in the city.

In addition, she drew attention to issues such as ineffective garbage management, declining green cover, worsening air pollution, and the release of untreated sewage into the sea, all of which, she said, have serious long-term consequences for Mumbai’s environment and public health.

Criticising the Dharavi redevelopment project, Menon described it as “the biggest land grab in the history of independent India.” She further alleged that the BMC has been functioning without elected representatives for the past four years, a situation that has weakened democratic oversight. During this period, she claimed, the civic body’s fixed deposits have declined sharply. “This suffering is avoidable and has been imposed on Mumbaikars by a self-serving political class. Every major party has looted Mumbai in some way,” she said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also addressed the media and said the party is ready to present a governance-driven alternative in Mumbai. Referring to AAP’s performance in Delhi and Punjab under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, Singh said the party has consistently delivered quality education, healthcare, electricity, and water services without corruption or increasing public debt.

“Mumbai deserves the same governance model that has transformed Delhi and Punjab,” Singh said, adding that even a modest presence in the BMC would allow AAP to play a constructive role. He explained that with just seven corporators, the party would be entitled to a leader of the house and representation on key statutory committees such as the Standing Committee, Improvement Committee, Health Committee, Education Committee, and BEST Committee.

Recalling AAP’s earlier electoral performance, Singh noted that the party had secured a 5.16 per cent vote share and over 2.73 lakh votes in Mumbai during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Expressing confidence ahead of the civic polls, he said the party expects to significantly improve upon that performance in 2026. “Mumbai needs AAP, and we will contest all 227 wards on our own strength,” he asserted.

Alongside the announcement, AAP released its first list of 21 candidates for the upcoming elections. The candidates will contest from wards numbered 3, 23, 29, 31, 40, 43, 48, 53, 54, 83, 90, 134, 146, 148, 151, 190, 206, 211, 221, 225, and 227.

The list includes Rajendra (Rajan) Ramadhar Mishra from Ward 3, Tilak Kumar Choudhari from Ward 23, Rajbali Rambaran Sahani from Ward 29, Poonam Ashish Das from Ward 31, and Jilajeet Ramshabad Yadav from Ward 40. Other candidates named include Irfan Nawab Khan, Larzy Varghees, Ravindra Dodiye, Mahendra Bhosle Malusare, Preeti Sunder Padhmukh, Suresh Keshav Acharya, Nasreen Sajid Khan, Bahusaheb Rangnath Varthe, Neeta Kiran Sukhtankar, Jyoti Vijay Kshirsagar, Pranali Girish Raut, Ashok Ramdular Upadhyay, Mohd. Aslam Muneer Merchant, Zunaid Jamil Khan, Deepaq Rajan Silan, and Maraaret Hermit Dacosta.

After a prolonged delay of nearly three years, elections to the BMC will finally take place on January 15, 2026, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. The previous elected body’s five-year term ended in February 2022, making the upcoming polls a crucial moment for Mumbai’s civic governance.

Image Courtesy:

02 Jan 2026

BMC Elections

BMC Polls 2026: AAP announces independent fight across 227 Mumbai wards, releases first candidate list

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