Voting is going on in 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari expressed confidence of BJP’s victory and appealed to the people to vote. Voting had a slow start in Mumbai. The main contest is between Mahayuti and Thackeray camp.
Nagpur: As voting began in Maharashtra’s 29 municipal corporations, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed confidence that the BJP will win the local body elections. He also appealed to the people to vote in large numbers. Voting began at 7.30 am today and will continue till 5.30 pm, while counting of votes will begin on Friday, January 16.
Gadkari said he was hopeful of BJP’s victory and reiterated the party’s promise to improve the standards of civic amenities and environment in the city.
“I am hopeful that BJP will win the elections. We will work on our resolve to make Nagpur the cleanest and pollution-free city in the world. Voting is our fundamental right, and we should use it. I appeal to the people to come out in large numbers and cast their vote. We need to improve the voting system, only then the voting percentage will increase.
He said, “Certainly, in the last 15 years, whether it is Mumbai or Nagpur, under the leadership of PM Modi at the Centre, and Devendra ji in Maharashtra, and our party in Nagpur, we have done excellent work, and the public has seen all this work with their own eyes. We will win by record margins. This is my belief.”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar also expressed confidence that the victory of the Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena) would “teach Thackeray’s corrupt party a lesson”. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections started on a slow note on Thursday, with only 7.12 per cent voting recorded till 9:30 am. However, early trends show that almost twice as many male voters as female voters are casting their votes.
The highest turnout of 11.57 percent was recorded in ward number 18 of Mumbai city. Whereas, ward number 162 had the lowest turnout of 1.68 percent. A total of 7,36,996 voters have cast their votes out of total 1,03,44,315 voters. According to official data released by the State Election Commission (SEC), almost twice as many men as women have cast their votes. 4,54,539 men have voted in the BMC elections, while the number of women is 2,82,433.
BJP and Shiv Sena are contesting the civic polls as allies under the banner of Mahayuti, except in Pune. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to contest independently in most corporations. In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both factions of the NCP have come together under a joint manifesto. The main political battle hinges on Mumbai and Pune, where the BJP-led grand alliance will face a united Thackeray camp. In fact, just before the civic elections, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have come together on the issue of ‘Marathi Manush’ in this big fight to take over the country’s richest municipal corporation, BMC. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.
Voting is taking place in 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra on Thursday. These elections are being held after a vigorous campaign and are considered crucial for major cities including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Pimpri-Chinchwad.