Mumbai BMC Elections 2026: X User Alleges Vote Manipulation Outside Jain Temple In Worli; Police Respond

Mumbai: As the polling for the crucial BMC Polls 2026 is underway, a user on X has alleged that voters are being influenced with money outside the Jain temple in Worli's Pandurang Budhkar Marg area. However, the user has not provided details about which party’s workers were influencing voters.

In the tweet, the user with the name Sarcastic Society tagged the Mumbai Police and alleged that several people were standing near a Jain temple opposite Bombay Dyeing on Pandurang Budhkar Marg (PB Marg), Worli, and were allegedly attempting to manipulate voters by offering money in exchange for votes for specific candidates. The post also warned citizens not to stand near the temple area and urged authorities to take action.

Mumbai Police Responds

Taking note of the allegation, Mumbai Police replied saying, "We have informed the Senior Officials of NM Joshi Marg."

Election officials have repeatedly emphasised that offering or accepting money to influence voters is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and punishable under election laws.

BMC Polls 2026

In Mumbai, according to a BMC spokesperson, the average voter turnout stood at 17.73 per cent till 11.30 am. Ward number 114 in the eastern suburbs recorded the highest voter turnout at 26.31 per cent, while the lowest turnout of 6.23 per cent was reported in ward number 227 in south Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, the R Central and R North wards of the BMC, which include several areas of Borivali and Dahisar in Mumbai’s western suburbs, witnessed chaos during the early hours of polling day. Several voters complained of discrepancies between the voter lists available at polling booths and the polling centre details provided on the BMC’s online database. Many said they were forced to visit two to three polling booths before locating their names on the electoral rolls.

On the other hand, many voters, including political leaders, Raj Thackeray, and Sachin Sawant, alleged that marker ink can be easily removed, raising serious concerns about how authorities would prevent double voting.

Voting for the civic polls, which began at 7.30 am, is underway amid tight security arrangements across Mumbai and is scheduled to continue till 5.30 pm. The metropolis has 227 electoral wards.

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