Exit polls project Mahayuti win in BMC as Maharashtra polls see 50% turnout

Around half the electorate voted in the BMC and 28 other civic bodies in Maharashtra, with exit polls projecting a Mahayuti alliance win in Mumbai as counting is set for Friday

At least 50 per cent polling was recorded for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s wealthiest civic body, and 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra on Thursday with exit polls predicting a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance in Mumbai.

 

The counting of votes will take place on Friday.

 

Of the BMC’s 227 wards, Axis My India exit poll predicted that the Mahayuti Alliance is projected to win 131-151, JVC exit poll put the alliance’s number at 138 seats, and Sakal said it would win 119 seats.

 

The highlight of the BMC elections was the reuniting of the Thackeray cousins-- Uddhav and Raj Thackeray -- who came together after 20 years to stake a claim to the legacy of Shiv Sena’s founder Bal Thackeray.

 

The elections for the BMC, with an annual budget is over ₹74,400 crore, was a keenly contested one with 1,700 candidates in the fray for 227 seats in the elections held after a four-year delay.

 

The polling was marred by complaints that the indelible ink applied on voters' fingers could be easily removed. Speaking shortly after voting ended at 5.30 pm, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the turnout in the 29 civic bodies was in the 46-50 per cent range. The exact polling figures will be declared later, another official said.

 

In the 2017 elections, the polling percentage in Mumbai was 55.53, while the average voting figure in 26 corporations -- elections were held for the first time in Jalna and Ichalkaranji municipal corporations -- was 56.35 per cent.

 

Polling for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in the 29 civic bodies began at 7.30 am and concluded at 5.30 pm. A total of 34.8 million (3.48 crore) voters were eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates. Except for Mumbai, the 28 other urban bodies have multi-member wards.

 

Politicians, such as Union minister Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, industrialists, including Reliance Industries Limited’s Mukesh Ambani, sportspersons, such as Sachin Tendulkar and several film industry personalities, including Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Paresh Rawal, turned up to vote.

 

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote in Nagpur for the elections to the city's civic body.