Elections are being held in 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra. Hema Malini voted in Mumbai and appealed to vote for a better city. The main contest is in Mumbai and Pune, where new political alliances have been formed. A total of 3.48 crore voters will cast their votes.
Mumbai: BJP MP Hema Malini on Thursday cast her vote in the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Mumbai and appealed to the citizens to exercise their right to vote. He said that Mumbai is the best city in the world and only by exercising their right to vote, citizens can make it even better. Malini said, “I appeal to everyone to come out and vote. Just like I came out to vote this morning. If you want safety, progress, clean air and pothole-free roads in Mumbai, then we all have to take responsibility and vote. Only by exercising your right to vote, you will be able to make Mumbai, which according to me is the best city in the world, even better. I request all the citizens of Mumbai to come and vote for the right people.”
Elections are being held in 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra today as a high-octane campaign comes to an end, setting the stage for a crucial political contest in major urban centers including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Mahayuti is largely contesting the local body elections together, except in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, where Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to form an alliance with Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP). In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both factions of the NCP have come together under a joint manifesto.
The main political battle is focused on Mumbai and Pune, where the BJP-led grand alliance will face a united Thackeray camp, as just ahead of the civic polls, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have joined hands on the issue of “Bhoomiputra” in a major battle for control of the BMC, the country’s richest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.
In Pune, in a major political reshuffle, the two factions of the NCP have come together just ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) civic polls following the split in 2023. Ajit Pawar again joined hands with Sharad Pawar and contested against NDA ally BJP in Pune, while Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena opted to contest alone in the PMC after failing to settle an acceptable seat-sharing formula with the BJP. According to the State Election Commission (SEC), a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats in 893 wards of 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling stations have been set up across the state. Voting will take place from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on January 15, while counting of votes is scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.