As Mumbai gears up for the long-overdue Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, a significant cohort of young voters is expressing a profound sense of uncertainty and disconnect. With voting scheduled for January 15, 2026, and just over a week remaining, many who will be casting their ballot for the first time in these crucial civic polls find themselves in a quandary over how to select the right candidate.
The Void of an Elected Council
The core of the dilemma stems from the prolonged absence of an elected civic body. The polls have been delayed for over three years, meaning a whole generation of voters has had no exposure to the functioning of local corporators or their work on the ground. This gap has created a major information deficit, leaving young citizens without a frame of reference to evaluate candidates or their past performance.
Tanmayi Anthwal, a third-year BA student from SIES College, highlighted this blind spot. Having first voted in the 2024 elections, she has witnessed political instability in Maharashtra. "But with no proper representative council body since 2022, it has left us in a complete blind spot," she said. "As civic elections are approaching, there is a lot of buzz now from candidates in the locality, but there has been nothing in the past three years to give us a solid background to make an informed decision."
Party Affiliations Blur, Forcing a Candidate-Centric Approach
Young voters point out that their usual strategy of relying on party loyalty, which often guides choices in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, is ineffective for the BMC polls. The rampant practice of local leaders switching parties has muddied the waters, forcing voters to look beyond party symbols and scrutinize individual candidates.
Prashika Gaikwad, a second-year law student at Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Law, explained this shift. "Although civic elections are more about the face on the ground, a lot of voters decide their choice on the basis of their party preference... But with the altered political affiliations of many candidates – who have been largely missing from the locality for the past three years – I find it to be really difficult for a first-time voter to make a decision," she noted.
Rutvi Choudhari, a third-year BA student at St Xavier’s College, echoed this, stating that with party alliances blurring, individual faces have gained paramount importance in these local elections.
Campaigns Miss the Mark on Real Civic Issues
A recurring criticism from these young Mumbaikars is the nature of political campaigning, which they feel glosses over pressing civic problems in favor of identity politics or vague promises. They report a disconnect between the issues dominating their daily lives and the topics highlighted in election rhetoric.
Vaishnavi Devadiga, a third-year BA student at Ramnarain Ruia College, pointed out that campaigns are tailored for traction rather than substance. "Campaigns include identity politics on whether the mayor of Mumbai will be a Marathi or vague assurances such as the complete elimination of corruption from the BMC, but not real issues which continue to remain the same over the years," she said. She listed chronic problems like traffic congestion, poor road conditions, overcrowding, waterlogging, and disruptions in water supply as key concerns that need addressing.
Rutvi Choudhari gave a specific example, noting the glaring absence of discussion on the Air Quality Index (AQI) despite it flooding social media timelines. "My timeline on social media is filled with issues such as the Air Quality Index (AQI), but no candidate is talking about it," she observed, criticizing how basic civic duties are often glorified as major achievements during campaigns.
A Two-Way Street: Voter Apathy and Political Absence
While the onus is on politicians to connect, some believe there is also a lack of proactive demand for information from the youth. Talha Patwekar, a student of MA Political Science at Mumbai University, provided a broader perspective on the systemic disconnect. "Forget about experiencing a corporator election, many of us have not seen a corporator working to understand the broad functioning of a civic body. There is a complete blind spot," he stated, suggesting that the very experience of local governance has been absent for young citizens.
This combination of factors – the three-year administrative gap, unstable political loyalties, and campaign rhetoric divorced from ground realities – has placed Mumbai's first-time civic voters in a uniquely challenging position. As the election date nears, they are compelled to navigate this complex landscape, seeking substance and accountability in a process that has been dormant for too long.
