Early 7% Turnout, Minor EVM Glitches As High-Stakes BMC Elections Get Underway In Mumbai

Polling for Mumbai’s crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections got underway at 7:30 am on Thursday, witnessing a steady turnout in the initial hours. Election officials said that by 9:30 am, nearly 7 per cent of the electorate had exercised their franchise, indicating a cautious but encouraging start to the civic battle.

From early morning, polling stations across the city saw a mix of ordinary citizens, political workers and well-known faces standing in queues to vote. Celebrities and senior political leaders were spotted at several booths, adding visibility to the voting process and urging citizens to participate in shaping the city’s local governance.

Voting is being conducted for all 227 municipal wards in a single phase. Election authorities clarified that any voter who enters the polling station premises before the 5:30 pm deadline will be permitted to cast their vote, even if the process extends beyond the scheduled time.

Officials said the polling process has largely remained peaceful and orderly, though a few technical snags were reported during the morning hours. In one instance, an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling booth in Chiwda Gully, Lalbaug, developed a fault, temporarily disrupting voting. A similar issue was reported at a booth located in Balmohan Vidyamandir, Dadar. In both cases, the malfunctioning machines were promptly attended to and replaced, allowing polling to resume without major delays.

To manage the massive civic exercise, the election department has established 10,231 polling booths across Mumbai. Of these, 4,704 are located in government buildings, 782 in cooperative housing societies, and 5,125 in private premises. Special arrangements have been made to ensure voter convenience, including drinking water facilities, shaded waiting areas, clean toilets, proper lighting, ramps and wheelchairs for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

In a move aimed at encouraging women’s participation, each ward features a dedicated ‘Pink Sakhi’ polling booth, entirely staffed by women personnel, including security and police officials.

Mumbai’s electorate stands at over 1.03 crore voters, comprising approximately 55.16 lakh men, 48.26 lakh women and 1,099 voters from other categories. Election officials also acknowledged that around 1.68 lakh voters were identified as having duplicate entries within the same ward or across different wards. Of these, more than 48,000 voters have already submitted formal declarations specifying the ward in which they intend to vote.