Meet the richest candidate in BMC polls, his assets witnessed 1900 percent rise in 14 Years, represents THIS party

BMC Election Results 2026 reveal that several winning candidates are crorepatis, with BJP’s Makrand Narvekar emerging as the wealthiest after a massive 1900 per cent rise in assets.

BMC Election Results 2026: While exit polls and actual results pour in for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Elections 2026, one narrative that continues to catch eyeballs is just how rich some of the candidates who have won this year are.

Dubbed one of India’s wealthiest local bodies and with its 227 wards hotly contested this year, many eyes have been on the declared assets of BMC Elections candidates – almost as closely as they’ve followed the vote count.

Wealthiest BMC Candidate: Makrand Narvekar

Speaking of riches, BJP’s Makrand Narvekar tops the charts this year as one of the richest candidates to have contested in the BMC polls this year. Submitting an affidavit before he filed his nomination, Narvekar declared assets worth close to ₹124.4 crore.

In total assets, Narvekar is one of the highest asset declaration makers in this year’s BMC polls and has increased his wealth by nearly 1,900 % since declaring assets in the BMC Elections of 2012.

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Slated to contest from the Jogeshwari polling division, Narvekar – who is the brother of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar – declared the following assets in his nomination affidavit:

Close to ₹123 crore in movable and immovable assets

Some of his assets include large swaths of land located in the Alibaug region of Raigad district. Narvekar also owns a flat worth crores of rupees in one of South Mumbai’s most premium localities, Colaba.

While BMC elections often witness candidates declaring crores worth of assets, the sheer number of candidates who have declared themselves to be crorepatis (those who have assets worth more than ₹1 crore) was reported ahead of the elections. According to data collated before the elections were held, nearly 35 % of the total contestants in the BMC polls this year are crorepatis.

The civic body – responsible for thousands of crores of budget every year that goes into maintenance, development works and daily services in Mumbai city – has one of the highest stakes when it comes to political seats.

Not only does the civic body have one of the largest civic budgets in India, the municipal corporation also governs a city that is the commercial capital of India and home to some of the most expensive real estate properties in the country.

Here are some other rich candidates who made it to the polls:

Two Candidates each from the ruling BJP, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the breakaway Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, as well as nominees fielded by the Indian National Congress crossed the ₹10 crore to ₹50 crore wealth-mark in their declaration affidavits. Multiple candidates contested the polls with wealth declarations in crores of rupees. While some nominees declared luxurious amenities such as expensive cars and flats in their locality-wise nomination affidavits, others included large agricultural or commercial properties they own.

Here’s Why You’ll Find Rich Candidates in Urban Civic Elections

As civic elections are being heralded as the ‘next big battle’ for national parties hoping to stake a claim in India’s governance and administrative arena, urban voters will be one of the most crucial demographics that political parties will be focusing on.

This, combined with the rising costs of political campaigns in cities, has resulted in affluent candidates running for urban civic elections in recent years.

Real estate prices in the nation’s financial capital are nothing short of sky-high. Add to that that Mumbai is also the commercial capital of India and, well… You get why affluent candidates are running to become BMC councillors.

Can Rich Candidates Ensure Better Governance?

For starters, money does play a key role in the political sphere. While rich candidates don’t always guarantee winnability in a seat, they do have better means to fund and publicise their campaigns.

Considering BMC councillors will be responsible for making key decisions about Mumbai city that affect millions of resident who live here on a daily basis, it will be interesting to see how many of these wealthy candidates win seats on the BMC. Stay tuned for more results through the day.