Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : As polling begins across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would emerge victorious in the local body elections, while appealing to citizens to exercise their right to vote in large numbers.
Polling began today at 7.30 am and will continue until 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.
Gadkari said he was hopeful of a BJP win and reiterated the party's commitment to improving civic infrastructure and environmental standards in the city.
"I am hopeful that BJP will win the election. We will work on our resolve to make Nagpur the cleanest and most pollution-free city in the world. Voting is our fundamental right, and we should use it. I appeal to the people to come out and cast their votes in large numbers. We need to improve the system of voting, only then will the voting percentage increase," Gadkari told reporters.
He further added, "Certainly, in the last 15 years, whether it's Mumbai or Nagpur, under the leadership of PM Modi in the centre, and Devendra ji in Maharashtra, and our party in Nagpur, we have done excellent work, and the public has witnessed all this work firsthand. We will win by a record margin. That is my belief."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashish Shelar also expressed confidence, suggesting that a Mahayuti victory (BJP-Shiv Sena) would "teach a lesson to the corrupt party of Thackeray".
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections began slowly on Thursday, with only 7.12 per cent voter turnout as of 9:30 AM. However, these early trends indicate that almost twice as many male voters are casting their votes as women.
The highest voter turnout was recorded in Ward number 18 in Mumbai city at 11.57 per cent. Whereas, ward no 162 recorded the lowest turnout at 1.68 per cent.
A total of 7,36,996 voters have cast their votes out of a total of 1,03,44,315. According to official data released by the State Election Commission (SEC), nearly twice as many men as women have cast their votes. 4,54,539 men have cast their vote in BMC elections, compared to 2,82,433 women.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to fight independently in most corporations.
In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both NCP factions have come together under a joint manifesto.
The main political battle remains centred on Mumbai and Pune, where the BJP-led Mahayuti will face the united Thackeray camp, as just ahead of the civic polls, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of Marathi Manus in a high-stakes fight for control of the BMC, the country's richest civic body.
The last BMC elections were held in 2017.
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.