Congress Faces Candidate Crunch in BMC Polls, Fails to Field Nominees in Over 30 Wards

X: @vivekbhavsar

Mumbai: The nomination process for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections has begun, and early internal data indicates that the Indian National Congress is facing serious difficulty in mobilising aspirants across large parts of the city.

According to information accessed by TheNews21 from a party insider, a total of 670 nomination applications have been submitted so far at the Mumbai Congress office by aspirants seeking to contest the civic elections on the party’s ticket. Of these, 601 applications have come from General, General Female, OBC and OBC Female categories, while 69 applications have been submitted by aspirants from the SC and ST categories.

However, the data also reveals trend for the party. In more than 30 wards across Mumbai, the Congress has not received a single nomination application from aspirants till date, suggesting a clear lack of interest, weak organisational presence, or confusion at the grassroots level.

Also Read: 227 Seats, Too Many Aspirants: Inside Mahayuti’s High-Stakes BMC Seat Formula  

The wards where no Congress aspirant has come forward so far include :

North East Mumbai

• Bhandup – Ward 112
• Ghatkopar East – Ward 132
• Ghatkopar West – Wards 126, 127, 128, 129, 160
• Mankhurd–Shivaji Nagar – Ward 137
• Vikhroli – Wards 111, 117

North Mumbai

• Borivali – Wards 13, 14, 15
• Charkop – Wards 19, 21, 30
• Dahisar – Ward 6

North West Mumbai

• Andheri East – Ward 121
• Jogeshwari – Wards 52, 73

South Central Mumbai

• Chembur – Ward 153
• Sion–Koliwada – Wards 172, 173
• Wadala – Ward 177

South Mumbai

• Malabar Hill – Ward 219
• Shivdi – Ward 203
• Worli – Wards 196, 198, 199

The development comes at a time when the Congress has decided to contest the BMC elections on its own, staying out of the emerging Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS alignment in Mumbai. At the same time, Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has not yet clarified whether his party will align with the Congress in the civic polls, while the role of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar in Mumbai remains uncertain.

Political observers say the absence of aspirants in several prominent and politically sensitive wards points to deeper organisational issues, including weak booth-level networks, delayed decision-making and a lack of locally credible faces. A senior Congress functionary, speaking off the record, admitted that the party was still trying to persuade potential contenders to file applications but acknowledged that delays at this stage weaken momentum and morale.

As rival parties accelerate their ward-level preparations and alliances harden on the ground, the early nomination data raises an uncomfortable question for the Congress: is the party struggling to fight the BMC elections alone, even before the battle has formally begun?