Ooth Mum-pay-kar Ooth
Editorial by Girish Kuber Loksatta dated 17th January 2026 analysing the outcome of Muncipal Elections in Maharashtra in 2026
Cities like Mumbai, Thane and Pune have been in dire need of better roads, flood control and public transport but the discourse has intentionally veered sharply toward divisive narratives. Thackerays, Ties and Division: A Civic Election Like Never Before in Maharashtra - The Wire
On January 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with its allies Shiv Sena and Republican Party Of India (Athawale) released its manifesto for Mumbai. Among the list of promises, including 50% concession on BEST bus tickets, the most curious of all is the plan to “use artificial intelligence (AI)” in identifying “Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants” in the city. Unveiling the manifesto, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the highest number of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants are residing in the city and that the state will take help from IIT to design an AI tool that will help identify the “infiltration”.
This election has many firsts.
The Mahayuti – BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) – that is in power in the state are contesting together in some places and in some, they have pitted candidates against each other. The Mahavikas Aghadi, that once comprised Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena, Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party too have split in several places and are fighting separate battles.
Sukanya Shantha
14/01/2026
As BMC elections near, BEST buses slip out of political focus https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/as-bmc-polls-near-mumbais-best-buses-slip-out-of-political-focus-10464690/ The change is most visible in air-conditioned services. BEST owns only 25 AC buses, while 1,720 AC buses on city roads are run by private operators. Even among non-AC buses, privately run vehicles now far outnumber those owned by BEST. This growing dependence on private buses has come with worrying safety figures. Between January 2023 and December2025,BEST buses were involved in 958 accidents, in which77people were killed and 217 were injured.
Comment: Meanwhile the busses are cramped to a capacity which violates every rule in the Laws relating to public transport. At places at like Churchgate the Driver will keep a packed audience locked, and go to the BEST counter, and even take a short break. Sometimes the AC is not working. The new Electric buses, with the gearless system also does not meeting the standards of steady driving, especially when the bus if overloaded and our roads damaged. So standees have to hang on for dear life..
Municipal Corporation Election: BJP's campaign slogan is "Divide and conquer"... We will share the power and eat together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drfiXS-aaSQ Prashant kadam
Perhaps this was the only thing left to see in Maharashtra... BJP and Congress have come together to keep Shinde away... and in Akot, BJP has joined hands with MIM.
On January 2, the final day for withdrawing nominations to contest the civic polls, as many as 68 candidates across multiple municipal corporations in Maharashtra suddenly pulled out of the race, paving the way for unopposed victories for the ruling Mahayuti alliance – the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party – in these wards.
This unprecedented scale of unopposed wins, which includes 44 for the BJP, 22 for Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and two for NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), is the highest ever recorded in Maharashtra’s civic election history.
Sukanya Shantha
08/01/2026