Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : As the voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Elections (BMC) commenced on Thursday morning, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC slammed the Opposition parties for making "excuses for their defeat", while expressing confidence in Mumbaikars voting for development.
Also reiterating, like multiple other leaders have said before, that the mayor of Mumbai will be a "Marathi manus and a Hindu."
"The opposition is finding excuses for its defeat, with EVMs, Election Commission, ED, CBI, sometimes voters, or notes, that is their politics, photo optics and theatrics. I have confidence that Mumbaikars will only vote for development," Shaina NC told ANI, after she offered prayers at Shree Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai.
"The mayor of Mumbai will be a Marathi manus, a Hindu, and the one whose heart beats for this city and wants to work for it, for its development. The same person will work for Mumbai," she added.
Encouraging voters to exercise their franchise, the Shiv Sena leader said, "The voting will begin with the blessings of Maa Mumba Devi and Shri Siddhivinayak. I urge every Mumbaikar to cast their vote because it is a quality of democracy which empowers you to voice your questions."
Voting began at 7:30 am today, with people queuing at their respective polling booths. A total of 1,700 candidates are set to contest the polls in Mumbai.
A total of 1,03,44,315 citizens are eligible to vote in the BMC polls. Of these, 55,16,707 are men, 48,26,509 are women, and the number of other voters is 1,099.
Apart from Mumbai, Municipal elections for over 28 other corporations are being held across Maharashtra, with counting of votes scheduled for Friday, January 16.
To ensure maximum voter participation, the Maharashtra government has declared January 15 a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The holiday applies to all government and semi-government offices, corporations, and banks within the jurisdiction of the 29 corporations going to the polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting the BMC elections in alliance with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, the National Congress Party, which is part of Mahayuti in the state and the NDA in the Centre, has joined hands with the NCP (SP) in key municipal corporations, including Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune.
The prominent civic bodies going to polls include Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Nashik, Malegaon, Ahilyanagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded-Waghala, Parbhani, Jalna, Latur, Amravati, Akola, Nagpur and Chandrapur.