Mumbai, Jan 19: After winning 24 seats in the 2026 civic elections, the Congress party appointed three-time corporator Ashraf Azmi as its group leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which secured six seats, named first-time corporator Yashwant Killedar as its group leader. With this strength, both parties qualify for dedicated party offices at the BMC headquarters. The appointments are expected to be formally announced by the newly elected mayor by the end of January.
Role of group leaders
Parties winning six or more seats are eligible to appoint a group leader in the BMC House. While the group leader does not have any statutory powers, they act as the party’s voice in the House—coordinating members, raising local issues, and influencing debates and decisions, particularly on budgets and development schemes.
Seat tally in 2026 BMC polls
In the 2026 BMC elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) with 65, Shiv Sena (Shinde) with 29, Congress with 24, AIMIM with 8, MNS with 6, NCP with 3, Samajwadi Party with 2, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) with one seat.
Accordingly, the BJP, Shinde Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, AIMIM and MNS are eligible to appoint their group leaders and will also be allotted party offices at the BMC headquarters.
Congress names Ashraf Azmi
On Monday, the Congress party appointed three-time corporator Ashraf Azmi as its group leader. Azmi, who won from Ward No. 165 in Kurla, will also lead a meeting of candidates who narrowly lost to review the results and strategise for future challenges.
MNS appoints Yashwant Killedar
Similarly, at a meeting held at MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s residence, newly elected corporator Yashwant Killedar was named the party’s group leader. Killedar, who contested from Ward No. 192 in Dadar, overcame initial opposition within the party to secure a hard-fought victory.
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Other parties yet to decide
Meanwhile, potential group leader names are under discussion in other parties. Shiv Sena (UBT) contenders include Yashodhar Phanse, Vishakha Raut, Shraddha Jadhav and Milind Vaidya, while names being considered in the Shinde-led Shiv Sena are Amey Ghole, Sanjay Ghadi, Trushna Vishwasrao and Yamini Jadhav.
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