As far as who governs the civic body is concerned, Mumbaikars are just not interested, if the turnout at the polling booths for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election is to be believed. Despite elaborate appeals and exhortations through advertisements and promotional activities, the all-important BMC polls on Thursday saw a disappointing voter turnout of around 46 per cent, no different from previous years.
Factors like fifty per cent women candidates, new parties like the MNS in the fray, new political equations like the Congress and NCP forming an alliance against the Sena-BJP, which too found a new partner in the RPI, were expected to have a positive effect on voting. However, with polling figures not showing any upward swing, parties are worried about the results, to be declared on Friday.
With the voters’ percentage at all places almost the same as in 2007, expectations of a massive change do not seem to have materialised. Barring a few incidents in rural Maharashtra and a couple of incidents in Mumbai, the municipal elections in the state mostly went off peacefully.
“Except for a couple of disturbances, no major incidents were reported in the city. We had deployed 21,000 police personnel, 1,000 personnel from paramilitary forces on election duty,” said deputy commissioner and Mumbai police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli.
In Solapur’s ward no. 11, NCP candidate Manohar Sapate was arrested for assaulting a woman who refused to accept money for voting. In Panchawti, Nashik, NCP candidate Sanjay Tile was assaulted and his house and office ransacked allegedly by MNS candidate Rahul Dhikale, son of MLA Uttamrao Dhikale. And in Ghatkopar, Mumbai BJP candidate Bhalchandra Shirsath was Attacked allegedly by Opposition cadre led by Pravin Chedda.
Percentage figures of the turnout at other municipalities like Thane (52), Ulhasnagar (43), Pune (53), Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur (56), Nashik (58), Akola (57), Amravati (58) and Nagpur (55) were also below expectations.