Polling for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, India's richest municipal body, began early Thursday morning. Hundreds of voters formed queues at polling stations across Mumbai to exercise their franchise. This election marks the selection of 277 new ward members after a gap of nearly eight years.
Long-Awaited Civic Polls
The last BMC election took place in February 2017. Since then, the posts of mayor and deputy mayor have remained vacant. Voting commenced at 7:30 am with citizens lining up at their assigned polling booths. A total of 1,700 candidates are contesting in the Mumbai polls.
Political Figures Cast Votes
The Thackeray family visited polling booth 44 at Kala Nagar in Bandra East to cast their votes. Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray participated in the democratic process. Several Bollywood celebrities also exercised their voting rights. Akshay Kumar arrived at his designated booth early in the morning.
Voter Statistics
In Mumbai, 1,03,44,315 citizens are eligible to vote. This includes 55,16,707 men, 48,26,509 women, and 1,099 voters categorized as other. The civic body expects a high voter turnout throughout the day.
Election Management and Security
The corporation has finalized counting centers for all 227 wards. Each center features secure strong rooms for custody of election materials including EVMs. Arrangements ensure transparency during the counting process.
Civic officials reported that polling staff arrived in large numbers since Wednesday morning. All required materials were handed over after due verification. These include voter lists, seals, indelible ink, and official documents.
More than 25,000 police personnel will deploy across Mumbai to oversee elections and vote counting. The city has established 10,231 polling stations. A total of 64,375 officers and staff members have been deployed for election duty.
Voter Participation Initiatives
The BMC implemented several measures to encourage voter participation. Polling stations received decorative elements. The corporation set up pink booths, selfie points, and media facilitation centers. Special assistance is available for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
Adequate police deployment ensures law and order on polling day. The civic body emphasized maintaining peaceful conditions throughout the voting process.
Public Holiday Declaration
The Maharashtra government declared January 15 a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. This applies to all government and semi-government offices, corporations, and banks within the jurisdiction of the 29 corporations going to polls. The holiday aims to ensure maximum voter participation.
Technological Innovations
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the civic body introduced a geo-fencing and live vehicle tracking system. This technology monitors movement of vehicles deployed for election duty.
According to a BMC release, 2,865 vehicles are being tracked through a central control room at the civic headquarters in south Mumbai. The fleet includes 1,023 buses from civic undertaking BEST, 101 from the state transport corporation, 1,160 from private owners, and 581 taxis. The system ensures timely and secure transportation of polling staff and election materials.
Political Contest for Mumbai
The BJP-led Mahayuti faces a keen battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins. Raj Thackeray heads MNS while Uddhav Thackeray leads Shiv Sena (UBT). Both groups compete for control of the cash-rich BMC, which commands an annual budget exceeding Rs 74,000 crore.
The NCP, its rival NCP (SP), Congress, and Samajwadi Party are also in the fray. Multiple political formations seek influence over Mumbai's civic administration.
Other Civic Bodies Voting
Prominent civic bodies going to polls include Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Ulhasnagar. Other municipalities participating are Kalyan-Dombivli, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayandar, and Vasai-Virar. The list extends to Panvel, Nashik, Malegaon, Ahilyanagar, and Jalgaon.
Additional corporations holding elections include Dhule, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Solapur. Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are also voting. Nanded-Waghala, Parbhani, Jalna, Latur, Amravati, Akola, Nagpur, and Chandrapur complete the list of municipalities conducting polls.
