Maharashtra votes in high-stakes poll across 29 Municipal Corporations: Key issues, alliances and more | Details

THe voting for the high-stakes Maharashtra civic elections is underway. Polls ar existence conducted for 2,869 seats of the tell overspread crossways 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations, including the BMC. The elections will decide the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,700 in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to vote in the polls. Follow LIVE updates on the Maharashtra civic polls hereKey municipal corporations going to polls include Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kolhapur, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Thane, Parbhani, etc.Voting time and security arrangementsThe polling is scheduled to begin at 7:30 am on the morning of January 15 and will conclude by 5:30 pm. To ensure a smooth flow of the elections, more than 25,000 police personnel, including senior officers, will be deployed across Mumbai.The results of the elections will be declared on January 16.In a press release on Wednesday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that distribution of EVMs and other election materials was carried out at 23 divisional centres in the metropolis.Each counting centre has been equipped with secure strong rooms for the custody of election materials, and arrangements have been made to ensure transparency during the counting process.It also said that several measures have been taken up across Mumbai to encourage voter participation, including decoration of polling stations, setting up of pink booths, selfie points and media facilitation centres.All eyes on MumbaiThe BJP-led Mahayuti is locked in a tough battle for BMC with the reunited Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, heading MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), respectively. The NCP, its rival NCP (SP), Congress, Samajwadi Party, among others, are also in the fray.For 26 uninterrupted years, the civic body has been held by the undivided Shiv Sena. In the last elections BJP won 82 seats to the Shiv Sena’s 84, in 20217.Campaigns concluded on TuesdayCampaigning for the polls concluded on Tuesday, with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis holding a roadshow as he campaigned for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections.Important issues in BMC electionsThe key issues in BMC elections range from monsoon waterlogging to traffic congestion and pressure on public transport, HT reported earlier.These include civic issues, including persistent potholes on the roads, waterlogging in low-lying areas of Mumbai, depleting air quality in the city and the problem of overcrowding in public transport.Election marked by key alliancesThese civic elections were also marked by key political alliances. The estranged Thackery cousins joined forces after 2005. In western Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar formed an alliance with his uncle’s Nationalist Congress Party (SP) for Pune, Parbhani and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ht reported.Among the slew of promises included Mahayuti's promise of 50 per cent concession for women on BEST bus travel and Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS's promise of ₹1,500 monthly allowance for women domestic workers.