By Nityanjali Bulsu
On 15th January, after nine years, municipal corporation elections were held in 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra. According to the State Election Commission, 60% of the voting is recorded, which is five percent less than the turnout in the 2017 elections.
Over 17 lakh voters will elect corporators in 32 wards.
Previous elections
In the 2017 Maharashtra elections, the Mahayuti coalition with the BJP was in the lead with 200 seats. In PCMC elections, the BJP won 75 seats, coming out in the lead, closely followed by the NCP with 37 seats, and Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) getting 8 seats each.
Issues faced during the current elections
Several major issues were noticed in the current elections, especially with the EVMs and marker Inks. It has been noted that marker pens and indelible ink were used on voters instead of ink. The marker pen marks were massively shown to be easily wiped off, and has caused a growing controversy on social media.
Maharashta Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray said, “The Election Commission hasn’t shown parties the EVM machines. We won’t allow this. The ink on the finger after voting can be removed with a sanitiser. Instead of ink, pens are being used after voting.”
Voters noted that there were beeps heard, but no indicator light was activated after the vote was cast. In other wards the indicator lights lit up for different candidates than the ones chosen by the voter. The machines also needed to have multiple checks before voting, delaying the voting process drastically.
Additionally, voters faced issues with having their names unavailable in the voter rolls of their wards. A user took to Instagram about her own issues with the voter lists. She had received her voter id on 9th June 2025, but was not allowed to vote due to the lack of updated voter lists. Married women with differences in their last names before and after marriage were not allowed to cast their vote.
2026 Election: Prediction
The issue of lower voter turnout in the PCMC elections this year, compared to the 2017 elections, is likely to tilt the balance in favour of strong parties with a well-built organisational structure and a loyal voter base. However, the BJP and NCP party leaders remain confident that the turnout in PCMC will be in their favour.