BMC civic polls 2017 live: Polling closes, record voter turnout at 52.17% in Mumbai

New Delhi: Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and nine other municipal bodies along with 11 zila parishads (district councils) across Maharashtra ended at 5.30pm on Tuesday. Mumbai registered a record voter turnout of 52.17%, up nearly 8% over the 2012 figure, in the election to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday, as per the preliminary estimates of the Maharashtra State Election Commission. A state election commission spokesperson said the final turnout figure could even be higher.

For BMC, there are 2,275 candidates in 227 municipal wards in the fray with the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, pitted against each other to control the country’s richest civic body.

The vote is being dubbed as a referendum on the Devendra Fadnavis government and the results on Thursday could impact the future of the ruling alliance in the state.

Here are some key facts related to the elections and latest updates:

■ 5.30pm: Mumbai registered a record voter turnout of 52.17%, up nearly 8% over the 2012 figure, in BMC elections, as per the preliminary estimates of the Maharashtra State Election Commission.

Thane reported a turnout of 53.11%.

Nashik city reported 52.63 turnout followed by Pimpri-Chinchwad at 51.86%.

Amravati city in Vidarbha saw a turnout of 51.62% followed by Nagpur with 49.95%. Pune witnessed 49.52% polling and Ullhasnagar 46.83%.

Solapur reported a turnout of 44%. Akola in Vidarbha reported the lowest turnout of 42.39% as per the preliminary estimates.

■ 5.10pm: Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab alleged that the names of thousands of voters in Mumbai were missing from the voters’ list. Parab demanded a probe into “missing voters” and said his party would approach the state election commission in this regard.

■ 4.55pm: Mumbai city registered a voter turnout of 41.32% till 3.30pm, as per an update by the state election commission. With only two hours left for voting till 5.30pm, Mumbai is likely to improve its 2012 turnout of 44.75%.

At several polling booths in Mumbai, voters told television news channels and reporters that the practice of keeping master voters’ list was not followed this time around, depriving many voters of their franchise.

Other cities in Maharashtra where civic elections are being held also reported more than 40% polling till 3.30pm.

Akola city in Vidarbha registered highest turnout of 46.3% till 3.30pm. Thane near Mumbai recorded a turnout of 45% till 3.30pm in the civic election.

The city of Pimpri-Chinchwad reported 43.8% polling followed by 43% polling in Pune city. Nashik and Solapur registered a turnout of 43.33% and 43% in their civic elections till 3.30pm.

Nagpur, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s hometown where he voted, saw only 45.72% polling till 3.30pm.

Amravati, another city in Vidarbha where municipal polls are being held, reported only 42.3% polling.

■ 3.30pm: Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who turned out to vote with his wife Anjali, urged people to vote and take part in the democratic exercise.

“Instead of sitting at home and expressing unhappiness over the state of affairs, please do step out and vote. Express your sentiment through your vote and things will be better provided you vote,” Tendulkar told reporters outside a polling booth in Mumbai.

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai said people should vote for development and “to root out corruption” from governance.

Eminent lyricist and film maker Gulzar also voted in Mumbai and said he was enthused by the turnout of the first generation voters.

■ 3.00pm: Mumbai city registered a voter turnout of 32.1% till 1.30pm. Polling will close at 5.30pm. Thane city in Mumbai’s neighbourhood registered a somewhat better turnout of 35.1% till 1.30pm.

Pimpri Chinchwad township near Pune recorded a turnout of 35.5% and Pune saw voter turnout of 30.3%.

Amravati and Akola cities in Vidarbha reported 33.6% and 31.5% polling respectively in the civic elections. Nashik city recorded a turnout of 30.6%.

Solapur reported 32% polling in the civic elections while Nagpur witnessed a low turnout of 29% till 1.30pm in the municipal polls. Ullhasnagar city saw the lowest turnout of 24.8% till 1.30pm in the municipal corporation poll.

Sachin Tendulkar (Left) with wife Anjali after casting his vote in civic elections in Mumbai on Tuesday. Sachin urged the people to come out and vote in the BMC elections. 

Sachin Tendulkar (Left) with wife Anjali after casting his vote in civic elections in Mumbai on Tuesday. Sachin urged the people to come out and vote in the BMC elections. 

■ 1.45pm: MNS chief Raj Thackeray said that like people should exercise their right to cast their votes, political parties should also work as promised by them during poll campaigning. “Like there are hoardings beckoning people to come out and vote, there should be similar hoardings for political parties to do work as promised,” he said. 

■ 1.35pm: BJP MP Poonam Mahajan after exercising her franchise, said the party’s decision to break ties with Sena has given an opportunity to youth candidates, who would have otherwise not got a chance despite doing good work. “During the Assembly polls, we observed that the percentage of voting for the BJP had increased. We have really good youth candidates who have done good work but never got a chance (to contest polls). Until people come out and exercise their franchise, they will not get the change they seek,” she said. 

■ 1.30pm: Mumbai BJP unit



president Ashish Shelar said glitches like delay in release of voters’ list might have an impact on the poll results. “The release of list of voters got delayed and there was also a change in polling booths. All this may have an impact on elections,” he told reporters after casting his vote in suburban Bandra. He claimed that many voters have also not received their voting slip, which has prevented them from exercising their franchise. 

■ 1.00pm: Mumbai recorded only 16.40% voter turnout till 11.30am, which nearly doubled from 8.7% till 9.30am, some of the city’s upmarket parts in South Mumbai saw very indifferent voter response till 11.30am.

Pimpri-Chinchwad city reported 20.73% voter turnout till 11.30am, followed by Pune which saw 19.5% voter turnout.

Thane—19.11%, Solapur city—18%, Solapur district—24% turnout in the election to Solapur zila parishad.

The turnout was 18.50% in the election to Nashik Municipal Corporation till 11.30am and 17% in Satara zila parishad polls.

Nagpur, the home town of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, reported only 16% polling till 11.30am. Akola city in Vidarbha saw 15% turnout.

■ 12.50pm: Prominent Mumbai residents, politicians and celebrities turned out to vote with their families. While Fadnavis cast his vote in Nagpur, NCP president Sharad Pawar voted in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actor Anushka Sharma, veteran industrialist Ratan Tata and a host of other prominent Mumbai residents took part in polling in the early hours of voting.

■ 12.35pm: An average 8.7% polling was reported in the first two hours of voting in the elections to 10 municipal corporations, including BMC in Maharashtra, on Tuesday.

Polling began at 7.30am for 10 civic bodies and 11 zila parishads. Mumbai city reported only 8.7% polling. In the 2012 civic elections, the voter turnout in Mumbai was 44.75% but the state election commission, NGOs, political parties and private companies have made efforts this year to improve voter participation.

Till 9.30am, Pune and Thane saw 10% turnout. Solapur reported 9.5%, followed by Nagpur and Akola at 9%. The turnout was 7.15% in Nashik and 7% in Pimpri Chinchwad and Amravati.

In zila parishad polls, Ratnagiri district reported 12.72% polling till 9.30am. Sindhudurg district saw 12.29%, followed by Kolhapur at 11.75%.

Pune district reported 11.03%, followed by Raigad with 10.55% polling. Gadchiroli district reported 9.89% and Satara 9.46% polling till 9.30am.

Sangli and Solapur saw 9.03% and 7.97% polling, respectively. Nashik district reported 7.16% polling, followed by Amravati with 6.33%.

■ 12.25pm: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray votes at a polling booth in Bandra along with wife and son. His party currently holds 75 BMC seats.

■ 12.10pm: BJP’s Shaina NC gets to vote after completing formalities. Her name was missing from the voter list.

■ 11.55am: Ulhasnagar ex-mayor Asha Jeevan Idnani’s car vandalised by unknown men. She escapes unhurt.

■ 11.30am: Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari voted in Nagpur.

■ 11.15am: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray votes around 10.45am at Shivaji Park Municipal School in Mumbai.

■ 11.00am: Congress leader Milind Deora says, “Mumbai deserves better after 20 years of Shiv Sena-BJP misrule. Remember Rs4,000 crore spent annually on roads, still no relief from potholes.” 

■ 10.30am: Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, among the first few celebrity voters, urges people to go out and vote in Mumbai in a tweet.

Started my morning by casting my http://vote.Voting  is our duty towards our country & its progress.Pls go out&vote 

■ 10.00am: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was among the first few people to vote at a polling booth in Bharat Mahila Vidyalaya in Nagpur. (CNN-News18) BJP MP and Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal and HDFC’s Deepak Parekh too cast their vote in Mumbai. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar votes early in the day in Mahalaxmi West, Mumbai.

■ 9.30am: In phase one on 16 February, 15 districts went to the polls. Parts of Gadchiroli district in far eastern Maharashtra also took part in the first phase.

■ 9.15am: The districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the Konkan region, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune and Solapur in western and south central Maharashtra, Nashik in north Maharashtra, and Amravati and Gadchiroli in Vidarbha will take part in phase two of district council elections.

Also read | Devendra Fadnavis govt faces big civic polls test

■ 9.00am: Apart from Mumbai, major cities like Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Solapur and Pimpri-Chinchwad will elect their civic bodies. Other cities going to polls are Ulhasnagar, Akola and Amravati.

■ 8.45am: More than 37.7 million registered voters are expected to exercise their franchise in these polls spread across Maharashtra’s urban and rural parts. More than half of Maharashtra’s population lives in cities and districts where polls will be held.

■ 8.30am: 10 municipal corporations including BMC and 11 zila parishads in Maharashtra are going to vote on Tuesday in the most extensive test of public mood since assembly elections in October 2014. Results will be declared on Thursday.