Maharashtra Civic Polls: Counting Begins for BMC, 28 Other Corporations

The State Election Commission will announce the results of the high-stakes civic body elections.

The Maharashtra municipal election results are being declared a day after polling was held for 2,869 seats across 893 wards.

Heavy police deployment has been made in and around the counting centres as well as the offices of the State Election Commission to maintain law and order.

Election officials, political party workers and supporters have gathered at the counting venues, where the counting process began in the morning.

Among the most prominent municipal corporations in the fray is Mumbai's BMC, considered one of the richest civic bodies in Asia. Other municipal corporations where elections were held include Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Key municipal corporations being closely watched include Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar and Navi Mumbai, among others.

The elections have attracted considerable attention due to major shifts in political alliances.

Former allies have parted ways, while erstwhile rivals have come together for the civic polls.

The Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, who ended their long-standing rivalry in June last year, have joined forces for the upcoming municipal elections.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is contesting alongside Sharad Pawar's NCP faction in two key corporations - Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is headed for a thumping victory in the BMC elections, facing little resistance from 'united' Thackeray brothers, said media reports citing multiple Exit Polls by the polling agencies.

At least two Exit polls have projected a clear and decisive mandate for the BJP-Sena alliance, with the Thackeray brothers falling behind by a significant margin, while the Congress-led alliance is seen headed for another poor showing.

According to Exit polls, the Mahayuti alliance has emerged as the favourite choice for the migrant population from North and South India, while it is also expected to take a lion's share in Maratha votes.

On the other hand, the Thackeray cousins are seen barely consolidating the Marathi and Muslim votes, as even that vote bank doesn't seem to be reposing their faith in Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance.

Two pollsters, namely Axis My India and JVC, have predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP and Shiv Sena in the hotly contested battle for BMC.

According to JVC, the BJP-Sena alliance is expected to register victory in 138 wards while Shiv Sena-UBT is likely to win 59 wards. The Congress-led alliance may win 23 wards, according to the polls.

Axis My India polls predicted victory in 131-151 wards for the BJP-Sena combine, while projecting 58-68 seats for the Shiv Sena-UBT-led alliance.

According to another polling agency, The Sakal Poll, the BMC face-off is seen as a close contest between BJP-Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena(UBT)-MNS.

The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition is seen getting the edge over the Thackeray brothers, but by a slender margin.

According to the polling agency, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance could register a victory in 119 wards while the Shiv Sena-UBT could win 75. Congress tally is projected to fall below the 20-seat mark.

For the BMC elections, Thackeray cousins -- Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray -- came together after about 20 years of political separation.

Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena-UBT and MNS president Raj Thackeray, set aside their long-standing rift in a bid to overcome an audacious challenge from the BJP-Shiv Sena combine for the BMC polls.

Shiv Sena-UBT contested about 160 wards, while the MNS fielded candidates in about 53 seats.

Notably, BMC is the country's richest civic body, which went to the polls on Thursday, along with 28 municipal corporations across Maharashtra.

Polling began at 7:30 a.m. and concluded at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. While official voter turnout figures are awaited, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare reportedly said turnout across the 29 civic bodies ranged between 46 and 50 per cent. By 3:30 p.m., Kolhapur recorded the highest turnout at 50.85 per cent, followed by Parbhani, Thane, Vasai-Virar and Panvel.

Meanwhile, allegations surfaced during polling regarding the use of marker pens or "erasable ink," with some voters claiming the ink could be removed using hand sanitisers.

- IANS