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An average of 6.98 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Thursday, officials said. Polling began at 7.30 am amid tight security arrangements across Mumbai and will continue till 5.30 pm. The average voter turnout stood at 6.98 per cent till 9.30 am, a BMC spokesperson said. Data released by the civic body showed wide variations in voter participation across wards. The highest turnout of 11.57 per cent was recorded in ward number 18 in the western suburbs, while the lowest turnout of 1.68 per cent was reported in ward number 162 in the eastern suburbs till 9.30 am.
Electors in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls will be required to present either a voter photo ID card or any one of the 12 alternative identity documents approved by the State Election Commission to cast their vote, officials said. Polling will be held across 227 civic wards from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on Thursday and counting of votes will take place on Friday. A total of 1,700 candidates are in the fray, including 878 women and 822 men. As many as 1,03,44,315 persons -- ?55,15,707 men, 48,26,509 women and 1,099 others -- are eligible to vote. Municipal commissioner and district election officer Bhushan Gagrani on Tuesday said that voters must establish their identity at the polling station by presenting a photo identity card. Those without a voter ID may submit any one of the 12 notified documents, which include the passport, Aadhaar card, driving licence, PAN card, government-issued photo identity cards and bank or post office passbooks with ...
Several prominent candidates in the upcoming Mumbai civic polls, including former mayor Kishori Pednekar, have declared a sharp rise in assets since 2017, according to affidavits uploaded by the State Election Commission. As many as 1,700 candidates are in the fray for the 227-ward Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled on January 15. Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and former city mayor Kishori Pednekar, contesting from Lower Parel (ward 199) in central Mumbai, has declared total assets of Rs 5.26 crore, a 226 per cent increase from Rs 1.61 crore in 2017. Pednekar, who served as Mumbai mayor from 2019 to 2022, has declared immovable and movable assets of Rs 4.69 crore and Rs 57 lakh, respectively. Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate Samadhan Sarvankar, son of former MLA Sada Sarvankar and seeking a second term, has declared assets of Rs 46.59 crore, a steep rise of 394 per cent from Rs 9.43 crore in 2017. The Sena candidate, who has listed his profession as busin
The Opposition has accused election officials of showing a partisan attitude during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming Thane Municipal Corporation elections after the documents of a few candidates were rejected. Rajan Vichare of Shiv Sena (UBT), Avinash Jadhav of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Jitendra Awhad of NCP (SP) addressed the media on Wednesday night, targeting the returning officer in the Wagle Estate area. The Opposition leaders alleged that the returning officer showed bias in rejecting the nomination papers of Sena (UBT), MNS, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and independent candidates contesting from wards 16, 17 and 18. According to MNS and VBA leaders, the nominations of Shinde Sena candidates Ekta Bhoir and Shilpa Wagh were accepted despite alleged discrepancies. The Wagle Estate area is considered a stronghold of the ruling Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. These officials have become servants of the ruling party and they work
Ruling allies BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will contest 137 and 90 seats, respectively, in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls. A seat-sharing pact was revealed by Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam on Monday, following hectic parleys a day before the deadline for filing nomination papers closes on December 30. Both parties will allocate some seats from their respective quotas to alliance partners, Satam added. Candidates of both parties will file their nomination papers on Tuesday. Another constituent of Mahayuti, the NCP, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls separately. The NCP has so far announced 64 candidates for the BMC polls. Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the high-stakes Mumbai, will be held on January 15, and votes will be counted the next day. In the BMC elections held in 2017 for 227 seats, the BJP made giant strides in the Shiv Sena citadel of Mumbai, winn
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) are yet to resolve the deadlock over a couple of seats for the BMC polls as both parties enjoy influence in those areas of the city, an MNS functionary said. An MNS leader said the stalemate is over seats in Bhandup, particularly ward No. 114. Bhandup and Vikhroli in the eastern suburbs are the areas where both Uddhav Thackeray's Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's MNS have a strong presence. The Thackeray cousins on Wednesday announced their decision to forge an alliance ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, but refused to divulge details concerning the seat-sharing agreement. The MNS leader said his party has staked claim over ward 114 for its local leader. From Uddhav Thackeray's party, a former MLA's wife and Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Dina Patil's daughter Rajool Patil are keen to contest from this ward, he said. This ward has a significant Marathi population and both parties are anticipating an easy win. In the
The Congress' decision to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has fragmented the Opposition space in the Mumbai civic battle and turned the January 15 polls into a multi-cornered contest. The party cited the alignment between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's MNS as the reason for opting out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) arrangement for the civic polls. According to political observers, the Congress' move to go solo, focusing on local issues and ideological clarity, reflects strategic recalibration and political vulnerability. It is a bold gambit but one fraught with risk in a political landscape dominated by well-entrenched alliances and resurgent rivals, they said. How the Congress navigates this terrain in Mumbai could have long-lasting implications for its political fortunes in Maharashtra and beyond, they said. Historically, the Congress was a dominant force in Mumbai's civic politics, but the last three deca
Nine of the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra going to polls on January 15 are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), where urban challenges, centred on pollution, housing, water, sanitation and public transport, are expected to influence voter behaviour. Amid identity politics over caste, language, religion and the Marathi Manoos' narrative, candidates and political parties are recalibrating their platforms to address core civic issues. In the recent session of the state legislature, the state government announced an amnesty scheme to regularise over 20,000 buildings in MMR that lack occupancy certificates. A new regulatory framework has been announced to redevelop Mumbai's pagdi' buildings (tenancy rental model where the tenant is a part-owner of a house). In the nine civic corporations of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar and Panvel, local socio-economic and infrastructure issues are taking centre stage in ..
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) boss Raj Thackeray on Wednesday announced the alliance of their parties ahead of the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, putting months of speculation to rest. Addressing a joint news conference with Raj, Uddhav said the two parties have come together to stay together. Raj, however, did not share details of the seat sharing between the two parties for the high-stakes BMC elections. Mumbai's mayor will be Marathi and will be ours, Raj said. Uddhav said the parties have finalised their seat sharing for the Nashik Municipal Corporation where elections are due on January 15, along with Mumbai and 27 other municipal corporations in the state. Talks are underway for an alliance between the two parties in other civic bodies, he added. Those who can't bear to see what is happening in BJP can also come with us, Uddhav said.
Polling for the first phase of 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra on Tuesday was marred by allegations of bogus voting and violence with even supporters of ruling allies BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena coming to blows at some places, officials said. A voter turnout of 47.51 per cent was recorded till 3.30 pm with the State Election Commission (SEC) not providing the final figure till late night. An official said data is being compiled from across districts and the final voting figure will be released on Wednesday. In a related development, the Bombay High Court directed the SEC not to hold the counting of votes for the first phase of local body polls on December 3, as scheduled earlier, on the ground the "disclosure of public mood" through the results might affect the subsequent phase of the elections. The results of Tuesday's elections should be published along with the results of the December 20 elections, the HC said. In a subsequent statement, the SEC said the