Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026: SEC Website Down, Portal Shows ‘Data Not Available’; Technical Snags Disrupt Voting Across Multiple Cities

Polling for the high-profile Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections began at 7:30 am on Thursday, January 15, 2026, bringing to an end nearly four years without an elected civic body in Mumbai. Early morning queues were seen across the city’s 227 wards as voters turned up to cast their ballots for nearly 1,700 candidates contesting the polls. However, the voting exercise was affected by multiple technical and administrative shortcomings. Several voters complained of difficulties in downloading voter slips and locating their names at polling booths, despite being registered voters, leading to confusion and delays at several locations.

Many voters alleged that the Maharashtra State Election Commission’s website displayed “data not available,” leaving them stranded at help desks set up outside polling stations. Frustration soon spilled onto social media platform X, where users criticised the authorities for the system failure on a crucial voting day. NCP-SP national spokesperson Anish Gawande termed the situation chaotic, claiming voters were forced to search through printed electoral rolls due to the website outage. He also alleged booth mergers and name transfers, stating that members of the same family were assigned to different polling stations, sometimes located far apart.

Absolute circus: https://t.co/FESpE6Lzi4 crashed when Mumbai needs it most.

Voters in Mumbai stuck at polling booths hunting for names in dusty printed lists like it's 1995. This is Digital India? @MaharashtraSEC, fix your website or stop pretending we're in the 21st century!

— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) January 15, 2026

Also Read: Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026: Controversy Erupts Over Erasable Marker Ink Used at Polling Booths

Across Maharashtra, voters are unable to find their names on physical voter lists. Websites are all down.

Booths have been merged. Names have been shifted. My name is on one booth, my parents are on another booth in a fully separate location.

What a goddamn shame. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/DksZksU9TL

— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) January 15, 2026

@ECISVEEP@BJP4Mumbai@ShivSenaUBT_@INCIndia a total joke and mess of Mumbai BMC elections. Names missing & wrong names in list. No accountability. All the servers are down. People with Voter Ids & Aadhar cards are sent back. How the hell are we suppose to vote ? @timesofindia

— Kanchan S (@Adv_ks06) January 15, 2026

Mumbai BMC election me Parel area ki hamari puri building ke public ka voter list me naam nahi aaya jabki sabne assembly election me vote diya tha what to do @CMOMaharashtra@ECISVEEP@mieknathshinde

— Ritesh Gandhi (@ritzgandhi1982) January 15, 2026

@MaharashtraSEC why is your website not working. Unable to get the voter list details for the BMC elections

— SarKastic (@SarKAstik_me) January 15, 2026

Several other voters echoed similar concerns, saying they were turned away or delayed due to missing voter slips or confusion over booth allocation. Meanwhile, the state government declared a public holiday to encourage participation among Mumbai’s 1.03 crore eligible voters. Over 64,000 election personnel and more than 28,000 police staff were deployed, with over 10,000 polling stations set up citywide. Special arrangements, including women-managed pink booths and facilities for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, were made. Voting will continue until 5:30 pm, with counting scheduled on January 16.