Voting for the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections wrapped up in Mumbai on Thursday, alongside polls for 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra. The poll was marred with allegations that the ink used on voters' fingers could be easily wiped off using acetone, a claim that made rounds on the internet and led several opposition leaders to attack the BJP government. With polling now concluded, attention has shifted to exit polls, which are expected to provide early indications of voter sentiment in Mumbai.
The exit poll released by Axis My India shows that most age groups in Mumbai prefer the BJP and its allies. However, Mumbaikars aged 61 and more have preferred the Shiv Sena (UBT).The exit poll done by JVC shows that the BJP, Shiv Sena and their allies, which are a part of the Mahayuti Alliance, are expected to secure a vote share of 42-45%, while the alliance of the Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, and the NCP (SP) are expected to secure a vote share of 34-37%.
The predictions are based on voter feedback collected by survey agencies after the polling. While the idea behind exit polls is to accurately reflect public sentiment before the actual results are announced, their accuracy has faced scrutiny in the past. The BJP and its allies, part of the Mahayuti alliance, is set for a full sweep in the BMC election. The Marathi speakers in Mumbai, are preferring the alliance of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS. BJP-led Mahayuti Alliance is expected to win massively in the BMC election with 138 seats while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS Alliance is expected to emerge victorious in 59 seats.
The exit polls also predicted 23 seats for Congress and 7 for others.Polling began at 7.30 am and concluded at 5.30 pm for all 227 wards in Greater Mumbai. Mumbai has a total of 1,729 candidates are in the fray from the 227 seats. The city has 1,03,44,315 eligible voters — 55,16,707 men, 48,26,509 and 1,077 other gender — across all wards.A public holiday was declared in municipal areas to encourage voter turnout. Counting of votes will begin at 10 am on Friday, January 16, and results are expected by the end of the day.The last BMC elections were held in 2017 and the tenure of the BMC ended on March 7, 2022. Since then, the Mumbai civic body has been handled by an administrator.