Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS) Counting of votes for the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the high-stakes BMC, started at 10 a.m on Friday.

The process is being carried out across designated counting centres in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and other major cities under tight security.

Early postal ballot trends and the first rounds of EVM counting are expected to emerge between 11:30 a.m and 12:30 p.m.

Due to the “phased counting” method and the large number of candidates (over 1,700 in Mumbai alone), final official declarations for many wards may stretch to late evening.

The State Election Commission (SEC) reported a respectable turnout, which often signals a desire for change or a highly polarised electorate.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reported 52.94 per cent turnout (highest in Bhandup at 64.53 per cent, lowest in Colaba at 20.88 per cent), Pune (PMC): 54 per cent, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC): 58 per cent, and Kolhapur: 70 per cent.

Counting began under a cloud of controversy. Both Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav and MNS president Raj Thackeray have alleged that “indelible” marker pens were used instead of traditional ink, claiming they could be easily erased to facilitate bogus voting.

The SEC has denied these claims, stating the ink takes time to dry. The SEC has already announced a probe in the wake of a row over wiping off indelible ink.

While elections were originally scheduled for 2,869 seats, including 227 in the BMC, they were held for 2,801 seats as 68 candidates were elected unopposed.

A total of 3.48 crore voters decided the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,729 in Mumbai.

The battlegrounds included Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Mumbai, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji. Elections to the 29 municipal corporations are being held after a gap of more than six years, since their tenure ended between 2020 and 23. Of these, nine are in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), India’s most urbanised belt.

The victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti in BMC and other corporations is crucial for the installation of a triple-engine rule in the civic bodies.

On the other hand, the Thackeray brothers will face an existential crisis and a challenge to keep their unity intact in future.

–IANS

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