Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : BMC elections: Check voting time, result date and other key details to polls of India’s richest civic body and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
Voting for 2,869 seats across 893 wards will begin at 7.30 am on January 15 and continue till 5.30 pm. As many as 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots, deciding the political fate of 15,931 candidates — including around 1,700 contenders in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune. The results will be declared on January 16, setting the tone for Maharashtra’s political landscape ahead.
This will be the Shiv Sena’s first BMC election since the dramatic 2022 split, when Eknath Shinde walked away with a majority of the party’s legislators, along with control over its name and symbol. For a quarter of a century, the undivided Shiv Sena had dominated the country’s richest civic body, making this contest a crucial test of its fractured legacy.
What are voting times?
Polling will be held on January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.
A total of 1,700 candidates are in the fray, including 878 women and 822 men. As many as 1,03,44,315 persons — 55,15,707 men, 48,26,509 women and 1,099 others — are eligible to vote.
Municipal commissioner and district election officer Bhushan Gagrani on Tuesday said that voters must establish their identity at the polling station by presenting a photo identity card.
Those without a voter ID may submit any one of the 12 notified documents, which include the passport, Aadhaar card, driving licence, PAN card, government-issued photo identity cards and bank or post office passbooks with photographs.Electors can also show the disability certificates with photos, MGNREGA job cards, pension-related photo documents, official identity cards issued to MPs and MLAs, freedom fighter identity cards, or photo health insurance cards issued by the Union Labour Ministry, a BMC release on Tuesday said.
BMC’s additional municipal commissioner, Ashwini Joshi, directed civic officials to ensure that all essential facilities required by voters are made available on the polling day.
She laid special emphasis on providing immediate and adequate facilities for persons with disabilities, and instructed officials to ensure regular cleaning of mobile toilets and make sufficient arrangements for drinking water at polling centres.
Joshi also directed the Solid Waste Management department officials to conduct a special cleanliness drive around the voting stations and counting stations from January 14 to 16.