BMC Elections 2026: NCP (Sharad Pawar Faction) Left Without Corporators, To Contest Just 11 Seats In Mumbai

Mumbai, Dec 30: After losing all nine corporators elected in the 2017 civic polls to rival parties seeking tickets, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) enters the upcoming BMC elections completely stripped of its established leadership in Mumbai. Left without a known face, the SP faction will contest just 11 seats, facing a daunting challenge of introducing and backing a new slate of candidates.

Defections Leave Party Without Mumbai Leadership

In the 2017 civic polls, the NCP (SP) had nine corporators elected, but with Sofi Nazia Abdul Jabbar from Ward No. 78 disqualified over caste verification, the party was left with eight corporators. In 2022, cracks that first appeared in the Shiv Sena soon spread to the NCP, triggering defections among its former corporators.

After former minister Nawab Malik joined Ajit Pawar’s (AP) faction, his brother, ex-corporator Captain Malik, and sister Dr Saeeda Khan also joined the same faction, while the remaining four former corporators joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction).

Mumbai Unit Chief And Loyalists Quit Before Polls

The party suffered a major blow when Mumbai unit president Rakhi Jadhav and former corporator Manisha Rahate, who had stayed loyal to the SP faction, quit just before candidate announcements. Jadhav joined the BJP, while Rahate moved to the AP faction.

Leaderless Party Faces Steep Electoral Challenge

Nearly all its top leaders gone, the Sharad Pawar faction enters the BMC elections leaderless, revealing the party’s collapse in Mumbai. For the 2026 BMC elections, the NCP (SP) has released a list of 11 candidates: Ajit Raorane (Ward 43), Sanjay Kamble (Ward 140), Radba Deolkar (Ward 78), Adv Ganesh Shinde (Ward 48), Ruhi Khanolkar (Ward 170), Aarti Chavan (Ward 51), Manju Jaiswal (Ward 112), Saniya Shah (Ward 224), Abhijeet Kamble (Ward 165), Bharat Danani (Ward 107), and Sufiyan Ansari (Ward 211). With a mix of new faces and a few loyal followers, the NCP (SP) faces an uphill battle to defend its existence in Mumbai’s political arena.

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NCP’s BMC Performance Over The Years

After splitting from the Congress party, Sharad Pawar formed the NCP in 1999. In the 2002 BMC elections, the NCP (SP) won 12 corporator seats in Mumbai. The party’s performance in subsequent elections was 14 seats in 2007, 13 seats in 2012, and nine seats in the 2017 elections.

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