Maharashtra Municipal Election 2026: Voting Process Affected in Dhule, Mumbai, Amravati at Several Polling Booths Due to EVM Glitches

The voting process at several booths under the Dhule Municipal Corporation was disrupted after a technical glitch at Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on Thursday morning, January 15. According to the news agency IANS, technical faults were reported in EVM machines in wards number 4, 5, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19.

Voting was halted for nearly 30 minutes after the machines stopped functioning, causing inconvenience to voters, IANS reported. After receiving the information, the election administration immediately dispatched technical teams to fix the faulty machines and resume the voting process.

Visuals from the Polling Booth in Dhule

Dhule, Maharashtra: The voting process was affected at several polling stations in Dhule city due to technical faults in EVM machines. In wards number 4, 5, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19, voting was halted for nearly 30 minutes after the machines stopped functioning, causing… pic.twitter.com/futvNr54ji

— IANS (@ians_india) January 15, 2026

Voting for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra is underway with heavy security and will continue till 5.30 pm. 

EVM Glitch in Amravati

Technical glitches in the EVM were also reported from the Amravati district. Voters were seen standing outside the polling booth at Girls High School polling station 23. According tothe  Lokshahi report, the machine has been shut down for fifteen minutes.

Voting Affected in Mumbai

Malfunction in the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine in the Mumbai area. A voter talking to IANS said that he faced a problem at the ward in the city while voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. She claimed that booth officials told her that computer systems inside the booth are not working.

Also Read | Maharashtra Municipal Elections 2026: Voting For 29 Corporations Begins, High-Stakes Battle in Mumbai and Pune.

Mumbai, Maharashtra: On the BMC elections 2026, a voter says, "When I arrived, there was a huge line. As we moved forward, there were a few staff members checking everyone’s slips and ID cards, looking up room numbers, and guiding people inside. Once inside, we were told the… pic.twitter.com/rIWX9X2RgK

— IANS (@ians_india) January 15, 2026

Not only this, she was told by a woman election officer that her number didn’t match. She said there was a major inconvenience at the polling booth. However, the news agency has not mention ward number other area. 

EVM technical glitch was also reported from Chiwda Gully in Mumbai's Lalbaug area, which caused major inconvenience to early-morning voters. The polling booth was witness complete standstill when the voting machine failed to start at the scheduled time at 7.30 am. 

It is reported that for over 25 minutes, the machine was reported by booth officials to be solving the problem. After brief EVM glitches, voting finally began at around 8 am. 

A Shiv Sena UB leader and Lalbaug Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal Sudhir Salvi told the media that he had arrived at the polling station at around 7.15 am and found that the EVM not yet started. The EVM become fuctional at around 7.58 am and he cast his vote at 7.59 am.