With the deadline looming, Mumbai witnessed a final rush of civic poll aspirants submitting their nomination papers on Monday. A total of 357 nomination papers were filed in a single day across the electoral wards of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Last-Minute Surge Before Deadline
The overall tally of nominations received by the civic body now stands at 401. The process, which began on December 23, saw election officials distribute over 11,568 nomination documents to potential candidates over the past five days. Tuesday, December 31, marks the absolute last day for hopefuls to file their applications.
Candidates must submit their papers at one of the 23 designated offices, each headed by a returning officer appointed from the revenue department. The submission requires essential documents, affidavits, and the mandated fee as per Election Commission of India guidelines. The civic body holds the authority to cancel nominations in case of errors during filing.
Ward-Wise Breakdown of Nominations
Monday's data revealed interesting geographic trends in candidate interest. The K/West ward, covering western parts of Andheri, Vile Parle, and Lokhandwala, and the P/South (Goregaon) ward saw the highest activity, with 29 applications each.
This was closely followed by the N ward with 23 filings and the G South ward (Worli, Mahim) with 22. The historic A, B, and C wards of South Mumbai collectively saw 23 applications submitted on Monday.
On the other end of the spectrum, the R/Central ward recorded the fewest submissions with just four nominations. The F/South (Sewri) and S ward (Bhandup) each received seven applications.
Next Steps in the Election Process
The electoral machinery will now move to the next phases. The scrutiny of all nomination forms is scheduled for December 31. Following this, candidates will have the opportunity to withdraw their nominations, with January 2 set as the last date for withdrawal.
This will pave the way for the publication of the final list of contesting candidates on January 3. The stage is then set for the main event, with the BMC polls scheduled to be held on January 15. The high number of last-day filings indicates a keenly contested election for control of India's richest municipal corporation.
