Mumbai: As Maharashtra awaits the outcome of crucial municipal corporation elections, the Election Commission has clarified that vote counting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will follow a staggered schedule rather than beginning across all wards at once. The counting process is set to start on January 16 and will be carried out in carefully planned phases.
Election officials said that 23 designated counting centres have been established for the BMC elections. Under this system, results from only two wards will be counted simultaneously at each centre. This means that at any given time, votes from 46 wards will be under scrutiny. Once counting in one pair of wards is completed, the next set will be taken up, allowing officials to rotate staff and maintain strict oversight.
According to the Election Commission, this phased approach is intended to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and better deployment of manpower. However, it also means that early trends for all 227 wards will not be available immediately. Political parties and the public will have to wait longer for a comprehensive picture of which alliances or parties are leading citywide, as results will emerge in stages throughout the day.
Meanwhile, the campaign period for municipal polls across Maharashtra officially came to an end at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, bringing the state under the strict enforcement of the model code of conduct. Soon after the deadline, an alleged violation surfaced in Nagpur, triggering political controversy.
A CCTV clip that went viral on social media shows a man reportedly distributing pamphlets outside houses and shops late at night. Local residents who noticed the activity attempted to stop him, but he and an accomplice allegedly fled the area on a motorcycle. The incident is said to have occurred in Ward 14.
Based on complaints from residents and local Congress workers, a case was registered at the Gittikhadan police station around 2 am. The complainants have alleged that the pamphlets were linked to the BJP, though no official confirmation has been made so far. Police authorities have initiated an investigation and are examining the CCTV footage to identify those involved.
The municipal elections cover several key urban bodies across the state, including Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Nashik, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, Akola, and Chandrapur, among others.
