The Indian rupee fell to around 90.2 per dollar, pulling back gains from the previous session as investor attention shifted to the Maharashtra civic elections. After a four-year delay, 1,700 candidates are contesting 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which has an annual budget of over INR 74,400 crore. The elections, held after a nine-year gap, are under tight security, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. The political significance of the Mumbai elections has weighed on sentiment, as investors monitor potential implications for state and local governance. Tempering the rupee’s decline, India’s wholesale price index rose 0.83% year-on-year in December 2025, rebounding from a 0.32% drop in November, prompting investors to scale back expectations of aggressive monetary easing by the central bank.