Maha civic polls: Polling marred by violence, technical glitches and voter list anomalies

Mumbai: The otherwise largely peaceful voting for the 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, was marred by violence, technical failures and voter list anomalies.

Jalgaon emerged as a major flashpoint during the polling process. Reports surfaced of a firing incident in Chalisgaon in Jalgaon district during polling hours.

Local authorities and police were deployed to maintain order as an investigation into the perpetrators began. Voters and candidates at certain booths in Jalgaon alleged that the EVM machines were not arranged in the correct order, causing confusion among voters.

This led to heated arguments between polling staff and local party workers.

In the Tukaram Wadi area, a viral video showed residents confronting a Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) candidate, questioning his performance before he was asked to leave the area. Multiple cities reported technical issues with Electronic Voting Machines.

In the Pune Municipal Corporation area, sporadic EVM glitches were reported in the morning.

Election officials stated that malfunctioning units were promptly replaced with backup machines to ensure voting continued. Unlike Assembly or Lok Sabha elections, VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines were not used in these municipal polls, following standard rules for local body elections.

This led to transparency concerns raised by several Opposition leaders. Several districts faced significant irregularities that sparked tension.

A major row erupted after viral videos appeared to show voters wiping off the “indelible” ink using acetone (nail polish remover). Leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray questioned the SEC’s integrity.

The SEC has launched a probe into these claims, warning of legal action against those spreading “fake narratives”.

Police detained 208 women in Ambernath who were allegedly brought from Bhiwandi to cast bogus votes. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe this matter.

A massive anomaly was reported in Panvel, where one individual was listed as the father of 268 different voters. There were also reports of duplicate entries and “phantom addresses” involving non-local youth.

Incidents of cash seizures and allegations of money distribution were reported in Akola, Buldhana, Beed and Nanded. In Nanded, police rescued voters who were allegedly being “detained” in a marriage hall where money was being distributed.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday announced that 41.13 per cent voting took place in 29 Municipal Corporations in the state by 3.30 p.m. The SEC has taken a decision to avoid releasing the day’s voting percentage after the conclusion of polling, sources said.

To prevent potential disputes and controversies surrounding turnout figures, the SEC did not release even the estimated voting percentages late into the night. Voting for the Municipal Corporation elections was held from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Among the civic bodies with higher turnout, Kolhapur ranked first at 50.85 per cent followed by Parbhani (49.16 per cent), Ahilyanagar (48.49 per cent), Malegaon (46.18 per cent), Chandrapur (46.23 per cent), Ichalkaranji (45.94 per cent), Vasai Virar (45.71 per cent) and Thane (43.96 per cent).

The municipal corporations with lower turnout include Jalgaon (34.27 per cent), Mumbai (34.88 per cent) and Pune (36.94 per cent).

IANS