Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has emerged as a surprise winner in the elections to Municipal Corporations Across Maharashtra. At the time of writing this story, the AIMIM had won or was leading in 94 wards across the state, making it the sixth most successful party in the state. Surprisingly, this put the AIMIM ahead of prominent Maharashtra parties like the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
City-Wise Performance
The AIMIM's gains were mostly in the cities in Khandesh and Marathwada regions.
The AIMIM took a lead in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation but it fell well short of a majority on its own. At the time of writing this piece, it was leading in or had won 20 wards.
The AIMIM stood second in Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Nanded Waghala and Dhule and made its presence felt in Amravati and Jalna as well.
Shift in Muslim Votes?
The AIMIM's performance in the Municipal Corporation elections marks an improvement from the 2024 Assembly elections, in which it won in Malegaon Central and came a close second in Aurangabad East.
The results indicate a shift in Muslim votes in certain pockets. It does appear that at least in local body elections, the community seems to be open to going with the AIMIM instead of consolidating behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi. The break-up of the MVA may have contributed to this as the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCPSP contested separately in many places.
However, the party may have underperformed in places where the Congress did comparatively well, such as Bhiwandi Nizampur.
The AIMIM's positive performance comes on the back of its five-seat win in the Bihar Assembly elections in November 2025.