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Polls for 29 civic our bodies: The State Election Commission on Monday introduced the ballot schedule for Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Kalyan-Dombivali civic our bodies
According to sources, the native physique elections are anticipated to be held in three phases. (PTI File)
The Mumbai civic physique or the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the nation’s richest company, will go to polls on January 15, with counting of votes on January 16.
The State Election Commission on Monday introduced the ballot schedule for BMC, together with 28 different civic firms. As many as 2,869 seats in these municipal firms will likely be up for grabs, mentioned State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, including that 3.48 crore voters are eligible to train their franchise in these main city centres of the state.
The elections for all 29 firms, together with Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, will likely be held in a single part. The code of conduct has come into impact from right this moment.
Voting will happen in 227 wards in Mumbai and 111 wards in Navi Mumbai.
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The BMC elections are thought-about essential for political supremacy in Mumbai. The polls will see a direct contest between two main alliances — the ruling Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi. The Mahayuti which governs the state contains the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The foremost opposition alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, contains the Indian National Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) and the Shard Pawar-led faction of NCP-SP. Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is prone to be a part of arms with Sena UBT.
The announcement ends the extended delay in city native physique elections throughout the state, lots of which have been overdue for a number of years.
The schedule
Nomination submitting: December 23 to 30
Scrutiny: December 31
Withdrawal: January 2, 2026
Final checklist of candidate and distribution of symbols: January 3, 2026
Voting: January 15, 2026
Counting of votes: January 16, 2026.
What the SEC mentioned
Addressing a press convention in Mumbai, Waghmare mentioned your complete election course of can be carried out consistent with the ultimate instructions of the Supreme Court. The notification for the BMC elections will likely be issued on December 16, whereas notifications for the remaining 28 municipal firms will likely be revealed on December 18. Voting will happen between 7.30 am and 5.30 pm on polling day.
The elections will likely be held towards the backdrop of long-expired tenures of civic our bodies. Five municipal firms accomplished their phrases in 2020, as many as 18 in 2022, and 4 in 2023. Two — Jalna and Ichalkaranji — are newly created municipal firms. Senior directors have been operating most of those our bodies within the absence of elected representatives, a scenario that has usually drawn criticism from political events and civic activists alike.
The SEC has additionally outlined key options of the polling course of. While Mumbai will comply with a single-member ward system, the remaining 28 municipal firms will go to polls beneath a multi-member ward system, the place voters will likely be required to solid between three and 5 votes relying on the variety of seats of their ward. Nomination kinds will likely be accepted offline, responding to calls for raised by political events and candidates.
In phrases of scale, the elections will contain over 3.48 crore voters and almost 39,147 polling stations throughout the state. The fee has made preparations for satisfactory Electronic Voting Machines, together with almost 44,000 management items and near 88,000 poll items. Special measures have been deliberate to help senior residents, individuals with disabilities, pregnant ladies and voters with youngsters, together with ramps, wheelchairs and precedence entry at polling cubicles.
The SEC has additionally confused vigilance towards duplicate voters and misuse of media throughout the marketing campaign. A devoted cell software, ‘Matadhikar’, has been launched to assist voters find their names, polling stations and candidate particulars. Strict restrictions on marketing campaign ads will come into power 48 hours earlier than polling ends, and media certification and monitoring committees will oversee election-related content material.
All eyes on BMC
The estimated finances of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the yr 2025-26 is Rs. 74,427 crore, and the expenditure stands at Rs 43,162 crore, representing 58% of the entire finances allotted to improvement initiatives. This gigantic finances is unmatched by every other state or municipal company within the nation, cementing the BMC’s standing as Asia’s wealthiest civic physique.
Mumbai is the monetary capital of the nation, and as its key governing physique, the BMC manages to supervise infrastructure to well being, roads to water provide, transport to energy provide, training to sanitation.
What’s at stake in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai?
Thackerays vs Shinde, BJP: The Thackerays’ repute is on the road within the Mumbai municipal elections. There is a risk that Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s MNS could contest collectively. The Thackeray brothers are up towards the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. In the final election in 2017, despite the fact that they had been in alliance on the state degree, BJP and Shiv Sena contested individually in Mumbai.
Shinde vs Naik in Navi Mumbai: In Navi Mumbai, there was a verbal conflict between Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP chief and minister Ganesh Naik, which led to some pressure between BJP and Shiv Sena.
The prep on floor
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai unit on Friday introduced a 144-member steering committee for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls prone to happen subsequent month. The panel, which will likely be headed by metropolis unit chief Amit Satam, contains cupboard ministers, sitting MLAs like Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, and senior leaders Kirit Somaiya, Prakash Mehta, Gopal Shetty, amongst others. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state president Ravindra Chavan, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal and BJP nationwide common secretary Vinod Tawde are particular invitees, the celebration mentioned. The committee has been shaped to arrange the organisation for the upcoming BMC elections and coordinate technique throughout Mumbai’s wards, the BJP added.
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The earlier elections had been held in 2017
The 2017 elections noticed an in depth contest within the BMC. The Shiv Sena, which was then undivided, gained 84 seats. However, the BJP, gained 82 seats, recording a achieve of over 50 seats from the earlier election. The Congress (INC) was left far behind with 31 seats.
In 2012, the Shiv Sena had secured 75 seats, adopted by the Congress at 52 seats and the BJP at 31.
In the 2007 elections, the Shiv Sena had secured 84 seats, adopted by the Congress at 75 and BJP at 28.
With PTI, Agency inputs
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