Pune (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil arrived at Eklavya College on Thursday morning to cast his vote in the ongoing Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections.
After casting his vote, the minister spoke to the media, encouraging people to vote in large numbers and urging them to "vote for the lotus."
"I exercised my right to vote... I fulfilled my duty this morning. I appeal to everyone to come out and vote for the lotus.... The BJP will bring development... and people will vote for that," he said.
Further commenting on the Opposition's allegations regarding Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering, Patil referred to Sharad Pawar's NCP MP Supriya Sule, who had won elections numerous times.
"Supriya Sule herself confessed that she had won due to the elections conducted via the same EVM, so she can't blame the EVM for any loss of the party. The opposition should make a note of this," he stated.
Moreover, Patil expressed confidence in the Mahayuti Alliance's landmark victory in the civic body polls.
"28 of the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will see a mayor of the Mahayuti Alliance in these elections. 115 votes are required to become a voter; you can count 70 from the BJP and 40 from the Shiv Sena," he emphasised.
Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. The elections are taking place after an intense campaign and are seen as crucial for major cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Mahayuti is contesting the local body polls largely in a joint alliance, except in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to ally with Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP).
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.
Polling began at 7:30 am on Thursday, January 15, and will continue until 5:30 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 16.