Voting for 10 Corporations in Maharashtra begins

Mumbai, Feb 1: Polling for the ten Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra, including the prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, started today at 0730 hrs amid tight security arrangements.

The ten Corporations going to polls are Mumbai, Thane, Nasik, Ulhasnagar, Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, Solapur, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Polling got under way at 13616 polling booths for the 1162 wards. The voter turnout was brisk, according to official sources.

As many as 19580 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been installed for the mammoth poll exercise.

Approximately 1.57 crore voters will decide the fate of 9,246 candidates when they elect 1,162 councilors amongst them.

The election department says that counting of votes which would start from 0900 hours tomorrow, would be completed by 1500 hours.

For the first time in the history of any election, poll results would be accurately and immediately displayed outside the BMC headquarters on Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors. These LCDs will be installed on the main BMC building to enable Mumbaikars to know the results.

The outcome of the Corporation elections is significant as it will reflect the mood of urban voters in the state. The civil polls are also being projected as a battle of prestige for the Thackeray cousins -- Raj and Uddhav.

UNI