By Salonee Kulkarni
At around 10:00, the vote counting for the BMC elections began. 1,700 candidates are vying for 277 wards. Early trends at 10:10 show the BJP-led Mayuti leading with 26 seats. The Shiv Sena (led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is trailing by 12 seats.
At around 10:19, the voting trends show the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance leading with 45 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) at 26, more than double compared to the last counting update, and Congress catching up at six.
At around 10:27, the voting trends showed a constant rise in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance with 53 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS at 32 (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) and Congress trailing at 10 seats.
At around 10:37, the BJP-led Mayawati alliance was leading with 61 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) at 37, and Congress at 10.
Sanjay Raut, UBT leader, said, “The voting pattern in a city like Mumbai is a serious matter. Names of thousands of people who have even voted in the Assembly elections are missing in areas where Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, or Congress have a presence. The EVM machines are not working properly, and the Election Commission is not ready to listen to us. Yesterday, a meeting was held between senior BJP leaders and the Election Commission staff—why? The Code of Conduct is still in place…”
He further added, “The exit polls arrived even before the voting percentage was declared. The BJP started celebrating its victory. We have assured the people not to be afraid.”
The Congress trend shows an increase of 1 count currently at 11, yet trailing behind. The BJP-led Mahayuti, with 68 seats, and Shiv Sena UBT are trying to catch up at 42 seats.
In the last election held in 2017, Shiv Sena won with 84 seats, BJP was behind at 82 seats, and Congress at 31 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party has 9 seats. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena won only 7 seats, and the Samajwadi Party was just behind at 6 seats. The Independent Sena won 5 seats, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won 2 seats. Akhil Bharatiya Sena could only win 1 seat.