Mumbai: As the polling for the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections began at 7.30 am today, January 15, marking the end of nearly four years without an elected civic body in Mumbai. As of 3.30 pm, Mumbai recorded a voter turnout of 41.08 per cent. Over 1.03 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes to elect 227 new corporators.
Data showed that from Ward No 114, Bhandup recorded highest turnout at 53.34 per cent, while Ward No 227 in Colaba area in South Mumbai reported the lowest turnout of 15.73 per cent.
Total Voter Turnout Since Morning
In the morning hours, the polls witnessed a sluggish start as only 6.98 per cent turnout was recorded by 9.30 am, however, the momentum picked up by 11.30, as the voter turnout reached 17.73 per cent, and by 1.30, turnout reached 29.96 per cent. As many as 1,700 candidates are in the fray.
Will It Surpass 2017 Numbers?
In the 2017 BMC polls, Mumbai had recorded its highest voter turnout since 1992, with a total voting percentage of 55.28 per cent.
How many seats are political parties contesting?
In Mumbai, the BJP is contesting 137 seats, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 90, while the NCP is fighting separately on 94 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded 163 candidates, the MNS 52, the Congress 143 and the VBA 46 in the city.
What Happened Since Morning?
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, Uddhav Thackeray, and Sachin Sawant, alleged that marker ink can be easily removed, raising serious concerns about how authorities would prevent double voting.
The State Election Commission also issued a clarification that attempting to remove the indelible ink applied on a voter’s finger with the intention of creating confusion or trying to vote again amounts to a punishable offence.
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