Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) The voting for Municipal Corporations across the state, which began at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday, was plagued by administrative mismanagement. The primary victim of this inefficiency was Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, who was forced to run from pillar to post for an hour before he could finally cast his vote for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Reports of names missing from voter lists, malfunctioning EVMs, and unresponsive buttons have been pouring in since the morning. These lapses have caused significant inconvenience to citizens who turned out in large numbers to vote. Public outrage is mounting against the State Election Commission’s handling of the process. In cities like Mumbai, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, voting in many booths began with non-functional machines.

After an hour of chaos, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik and his family finally managed to vote. Naik levelled serious allegations against the SEC, stating that the system was failing to work “to the point”. The confusion began at 7.30 a.m. After visiting two different polling stations without finding their names, Minister Ganesh Naik, his son and former MP Sanjeev Naik, and daughter-in-law Kalpana Naik eventually found their names at St. Mary’s High School in Koparkhairane. However, the names of his nephew (former Mayor Sagar Naik) and his wife were listed at a different location.

For a family that has historically voted at the same booth, the SEC’s mismanagement forced them to cast their votes separately this time. Minister Naik remarked, “It is anyone’s guess that if a minister like me can face a situation where his name is missing from the voters’ list, then one can imagine what might be happening to common voters.” Minister Naik has been the BJP’s face in Navi Mumbai, who took on the Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde during the fierce battle.

In Mira-Bhayandar, a lack of awareness campaigns left many voters confused about their designated polling centres, leading to people wandering the streets in search of their booths.

In Mumbai’s traditionally Marathi people-dominated Lalbaug’s Chivda Galli, the EVM started only after a 30-minute delay. Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Sudhir Salvi expressed his frustration over the long wait forced upon the voters.

In Kurla (Mumbai), at Pant Walawalkar School in Kamgar Nagar, voters alleged a lack of cooperation from election staff. Confusion peaked as voter names, centres, and booth numbers had been changed without adequate notice.

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, chaos erupted at the Gujarati Kanya Vidyalaya after an EVM malfunctioned. It took nearly an hour to repair the machine, leaving citizens standing in long queues.

In Solapur, voting was stalled at Sangameshwar Public School from 7.30 a.m. due to a technical glitch in the EVM. The process resumed only after a 45-minute delay.

In Nagpur, in Ward 28, voting at the GRK Convent (Aradhana Nagar) was delayed for 40 minutes due to a technical fault. The process only commenced after the EVM was replaced.

–IANS

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