By Mahi Jain
Voting in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election and other civic elections began in Mumbai on Tuesday, along with civic elections in various Municipal Corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. These are Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, and Mira-Bhayandar. The voting process is being held from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.
The elections are being widely observed and are considered a major political challenge. The credentials of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar are at stake. Contrary to this, the Thackeray siblings’ led grouping is trying to recapture power in the BMC, which is one of the most powerful civic bodies in the entire country of India.
During the voting period, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat requested that all citizens cast their votes judiciously. It is essential to remember that voting is the most significant responsibility in a democracy, and therefore, one must vote carefully. Bhagwat warned against pressing the NOTA button, as this implies disliking all candidates and may have some unknown beneficiaries among the candidates that one does not favour.
For the hassle-free conduct of the polls, large-scale security preparations have been undertaken. Around 28,000 cops have been deployed in Mumbai itself, and 64,375 election staff members are monitoring the election process for 227 seats.
In Maharashtra, polling is taking place for 2,869 seats in 29 Municipal Corporations. The electorate comprises 3.48 crores voters, of which 1.81 crores are men, 1.66 crores are women, and other categories include 4,596 voters.
In another part of the country, Union Minister of State Murli Dhar Mohol was seen casting his vote at Polling Centre No. 42 in Ward No. 31 from P Jog School in Pune. While talking to media personnel, Mohol said that they cast their vote along with their family members and are confident that they would bag the position of mayor in Pune because of the development done by the centre.