In the initial trends of Mumbai BMC election vote counting, BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is ahead in 52 wards. According to the postal ballot, BJP is leading on 35 seats and Shiv Sena on 17 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading on 22 and MNS on 8 seats.
Mumbai: In the initial trends emerging from the counting of votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena Mahayuti alliance is leading in about 52 wards. This information is according to the initial data coming from the counting of postal ballots. Official data from the State Election Commission (SEC) and BMC is still awaited. According to the postal ballots counted so far, BJP is leading on 35 seats and Shiv Sena on 17 seats.
The morning has not yet brought any good news for the Thackeray brothers, as Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading on 22 seats. Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is leading on 8 seats so far. In the initial count, Congress has got lead on 4 seats. The recently concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections recorded 52.94 per cent voting, according to data released by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) on Friday. The allegations were made by the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance in the elections held on Thursday for India’s richest municipal corporation, which were later refuted by the SEC.
These elections, held after a gap of 8 years, were an important civic exercise for Mumbai. The last BMC elections were held in 2017, while the tenure of the last elected mayor, Kishori Pednekar, ended in March 2022. With the completion of the elections, Mumbai is going to get a new mayor after almost four years. Out of total 1,03,44,315 voters in the voter list, a total of 54,76,043 exercised their franchise. Of the total number of voters, about 3.7 lakh more men exercised their franchise than women. A total of 29,23,433 men, 25,52,359 women and 251 transgender voters also cast their votes in 277 wards.
Exit polls have predicted a victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, with the Thackeray brothers finishing second and the Congress and its allies failing to put up a strong show. In the 2017 elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 84 seats out of the total 227. While in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party at that time, the alliance had achieved half the figure of 114 seats, of which the BJP had won 82 seats.