The Aryavarth Express
Mumbai (Maharashtra): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini cast her vote on Thursday in the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and urged citizens to actively participate in the democratic process.
After voting, Hema Malini appealed to Mumbaikars to exercise their right to vote, saying that public participation is essential for the city’s progress. “I urge everyone to come out and vote, just as I did this morning. If we want security, development, clean air and pothole-free roads in Mumbai, we must all take responsibility. Only by voting can we make Mumbai — which I believe is the best city in the world — even better,” she told reporters.
Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra following the conclusion of an intense election campaign. The civic polls are seen as politically significant in major urban centres such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is contesting the local body elections largely together, except in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has allied with Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP). In these two cities, both NCP factions have released a joint manifesto.
The key political contest remains focused on Mumbai and Pune. In Mumbai, the BJP-led Mahayuti faces a united Thackeray camp after Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray joined hands ahead of the civic polls on the “son of the soil” plank in a high-stakes battle for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the country’s richest civic body. The previous BMC elections were held in 2017.
In Pune, a major political realignment took place ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, with both factions of the NCP coming together after their 2023 split. Ajit Pawar rejoined hands with Sharad Pawar to contest against NDA partner BJP, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena opted to contest the PMC polls independently after seat-sharing talks with the BJP failed.
According to the State Election Commission, around 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up across Maharashtra.
Polling is being conducted from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm on January 15, with the counting of votes scheduled for Friday, January 16.
