Vote counting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections is underway across Mumbai this morning. Counting is being carried out at multiple authorised centres, with officials confirming that all procedures are being followed as per Election Commission norms. Tight security arrangements have been deployed, along with traffic control measures, to ensure a smooth and peaceful counting process. Final results are expected to emerge as counting progresses through the day. Hemlata Gala won the Mulund Ward 103, defeating Dipti Panchal of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Neil Somaiya registered a victory in Ward 107. In Ward 135 in Mankhurd, BJP’s Navnath Ban emerged victorious. The win is being seen as a key win as the ward is largely Muslim-dominated, giving a boost to the saffron party. In Ward 73, Dipti Waikar lost to Lona Rajendrasingh Rawat of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Similarly, Samadhan Sarvankar was defeated in Ward 194 by Nishikant Govind Shinde of the same party. Nishikant Shinde is the brother of former MLA and MLC Sunil Shinde. In Ward 165, Kaptaan Malik, brother of former minister Nawab Malik, suffered a defeat. Among other BMC ward winners, Shivanand Shetty won from Ward 9. Ward 19 was won by Prakash Tawde (BJP), while Deepak Tawde (BJP) emerged victorious in Ward 20. Geeta Bhandari (UBT) won Ward 32, and Siddarth Sharma (BJP) secured Ward 36. In Ward 50, Vikram Rajput (BJP) won, while Varsha Tembelkar (Shiv Sena) claimed victory in Ward 51. Meghna Kakade (UBT) won Ward 60, and Krishna Parkar (BJP) emerged victorious in Ward 87. Further, Sunil More (UBT) won Ward 123 and Shakina Shaikh (UBT) secured Ward 124. Ashwini Matekar (Shiv Sena) won Ward 156, while Asha Tavde (BJP) claimed Ward 157. Shaila Lande (Shiv Sena) won Ward 163 and Ashraf Azmi (Congress) emerged victorious in Ward 165. In the higher-numbered wards, Iram Siddiqui won from Ward 201 as an independent/other candidate, while Anil Kokil (Shiv Sena) secured Ward 204. Ajay Patil (BJP) won Ward 214 and Santosh Dhole (BJP) emerged victorious in Ward 215.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the leading party with a total of 11 wins, followed closely by Shiv Sena (UBT), which secured 9 victories. The Shiv Sena, led by the Dy CM Eknath Shinde, won 4 seats, while the Indian National Congress managed to win 2. Additionally, one seat was won by an Independent or other candidate.
As vote counting continues for the PMC elections, Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil said voters are backing the BJP based on its development work, not campaign speeches. He dismissed opposition alliances as self-serving and confidently predicted strong BJP performance, claiming major seat wins in both Mumbai and Pune.
Sanjay Raut Raises Concerns Over Discrepancies In Voter Lists, Polling Process
Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut raised concerns on BMC Elections over missing voter names, malfunctioning EVMs and alleged BJP influence on the Election Commission. He added that exit polls appeared before official turnout figures and vowed to assure voters not to fear.
Initial Trends Give Mahayuti Edge
As per initial trends, the BJP-Shinde Sena's Mahayuti alliance is leading on 26 seats. Uddhav-Raj Thackeray's alliance is leading in 12 seats. Congress and NCP-SP is leading in 3 seats each.
