Maharashtra BMC Elections Updates: Polls see around 50% turnout, says SEC; to conduct probe over ink removal allegations

Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday evening said it would conduct a thorough probe into the quality of the `indelible' ink in marker pens used for the civic polls, after opposition leaders alleged that the mark on a voter's finger could be removed easily, enabling bogus voting.

Amid polling for 29 municipal corporations including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), social media was flooded with videos claiming to demonstrate how the ink could be removed using chemicals such as acetone, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the claims. -- PTI

A case has been registered against 155 government employees for allegedly remaining absent from the Maharashtra civic poll duty on Thursday, an official said.

The accused state staffers are from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the Marathwada region and its neighbouring areas, Phulambri and Gangapur Panchayat Samiti, he said.

They had been assigned election duty, but the employees neither collected poll materials nor showed up for the job. Despite written orders, these individuals continued to be absent from duty, the official said. -- PTI

Around 50 per cent polling was recorded in Mumbai and 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra on Thursday, amid a major controversy over claims that the ink applied on voters' fingers could be easily removed.

Speaking shortly after voting ended at 5.30 pm, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the turnout in the 29 civic bodies was in the 46-50 per cent range. The exact polling figures will be declared later, another official said. -- PTI

On opposition allegations of missing slips and names, Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh T Waghmare says, “Actually, we split the assembly voter list to make the local body voter list, and its slips are different. And actually, the polling stations are also different—the polling station in the Assembly may or may not be the polling station here, or it could be changed. But voters should have checked on our Matadhikar app and portal. And if they didn’t check, then at the booth, the different help desks could have told them which polling booth their name is on.”

Polling concludes at 5.30 pm. Polls record 40.5% voting till 3:30 pm for BMC.

'Dhurandhar' fame actor Saumya Tandon faced trouble while trying to cast her vote during the Maharashtra municipal elections. Despite checking her details online, she had to visit more than one polling booth as her name was missing from the voter list at two places. While speaking to ANI, Saumya spoke about how the confusion started when she checked her booth details online and followed the instructions given there. She said she was directed to different locations despite taking screenshots and confirming details online.

PB Group Chairman and MD Punit Balan cast his vote with family at Pujya Kasturba Gandhi School in Koregaon Park, Pune. He said the civic polls are being held after nine years, and voters expect ongoing infrastructure work to speed up once elected representatives put pressure on the authorities. Appealing to citizens, he urged everyone to step out of their homes and cast their vote.

Maharashtra BMC Elections Live: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan cast their votes

Maharashtra BMC Elections Live: MD-CEO of NSE Ashish Kumar Chauhan casts his vote

Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after casting his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Election 2026, says, "As a person who came from outside to Mumbai and now I've been here for more than 40 years. It has been a true home, and it has accepted me. The infrastructure, which was lacking, I can see that growth is happening." -- PTI

The State Election Commission rejected the allegations over ink, saying that it was “not possible” for a voter to cast a ballot again by wiping off the ink. “Creating confusion among voters by attempting to wipe off the ink from their finger is a wrongful act,” the commission said, warning that strict action would be taken against anyone found voting after removing the ink. It also clarified that marker pens have been in use since 2011.

Maharashtra BMC Elections Live: Actor Vicky Kaushal casts his vote in Mumbai

29.96 per cent voter turnout till 1.30 pm, say officials according to news agency PTI.

Maharashtra BMC Elections Live: 'Ink can be wiped off,' Uddhav Thackeray alleges vote tampering

Uddhav Thackeray alleged widespread irregularities in the BMC polls, claiming voters’ names were missing, indelible ink could be removed, and old EVMs were installed. He accused the Election Commission and the government of enabling fraud driven by greed for power, calling the regime “shameless.” Thackeray said his party would protest, warning that moves like One Nation One Election aim to facilitate nationwide manipulation and amount to a “murder of democracy.”

After casting his vote for the BMC elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab says, "This is for the first time, I have never seen the ink vanishing this way. This is a marker. The ink of the election is different, and this marker is different, which can be wiped off. There is definitely some tampering." -- ANI

BMC Elections Live: Fashion designer Manish Malhotra arrives to cast votes

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday called for action against the Maharashtra State Election Commissioner, questioning the delay in conducting the state municipal elections. Uddhav said that it should be revealed how the Election Commissioner is paid and demanded action against those responsible for the delay in the state municipal polls.

BMC polls Live: Actor Shraddha Kapoor casts her vote in BMC elections

After casting his vote in the BMC polls, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said, "Everyone should exercise their voting rights. In Mumbai, the voting percentage has crossed 25%, showing that people want change. We are contesting these elections on the issue of development. Since the Opposition knows they are losing, they are making allegations of discrepancies as an excuse. The election should be transparent, and everyone must get their right to vote."

BMC Polls Live: Veteran actor Paresh Rawal casts vote

Amruta Fadnavis, wife of state CM Devendra Fadnavis, says, "This is an important part of the democracy and therefore, everyone should cast their vote. The people should practically think which party is working for development..."

BMC polls 2026 Live: Uddhav Thackeray and family casts vote

Uddhav Thackeray, along with son Aaditya Thackeray, Tejas Thackeray, and wife Rashmi Thackeray, arrived to cast their votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections on January 15.

Maharashtra elections Live: CM Devendra Fadnavis casts vote

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and his family show their inked fingers after casting their vote for the Maharashtra local body elections.

BMC polls Live: 'We need to be with BMC and help them make Mumbai better', says Suniel Shetty

After casting his vote for the BMC election, actor Suniel Shetty said, "I think by far, this is one of the most important election so everyone should come out and cast their votes. We just keep complaining about the work of BMC. Today, we should do some work... We need to be with the BMC and help them make Mumbai better..."

After casting his vote for the BMC elections, Musician Vishal Dadlani said, "...Hopefully, whoever wins will hold the elections on time. This is very important for the country, for democracy. But given the state of our city in the last few days, the hope is that things will improve. I've stopped asking people to vote... What I'm seeing here is that there's hardly any public presence. There are more officials inside, it's so shameful. Every Indian should feel pain seeing this. If we don't take care of our country, if we don't take responsibility for it, then what's happening will continue to happen... First of all, the air and water should be clean, the basic necessities for human life..."

The main political battle is centered in in Mumbai, is in Pune, the BJP-led Mahayuti is facing a united Thackeray camp, with cousins Uddhav and Raj contesting together after many years. Thackerays have joined hands on the issue of Marathi manus in a high-stakes fight for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest and largest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.

The main political battle, other than in Mumbai, is in Pune, the BJP-led Mahayuti is facing a united Pawar camp, with Ajit Pawar's NCP joining hands with Sharad Pawar's NCP faction for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls.

While the BJP and Shiv Sena, key parties of the Mahayuti alliance, are contesting as allies, NCP has chosen to fight independently in most corporations, other than Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

More than 28,000 police personnel were deployed across Mumbai to maintain law and order as voting for the city’s civic body polls got underway on Thursday, officials said. Long queues were seen at various polling booths, as the voting commenced at 7.30 am for the 227-ward Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Police deployment at the polling centres had been done well in advance to ensure a safe and peaceful election process, an official said.

"More than 25,000 constables, 3,000 officers, including 10 additional commissioners, 33 deputy commissioners and 84 assistant commissioners of police were posted at various polling centres and important places in the city," he added.

Mumbai Elections 2026 Live Updates: Union Minister Piyush Goyal casts vote

BMC elections Live: Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar casts vote

On BMC elections 2026, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC said, "The voting will begin with the blessings of Maa Mumba Devi and Shri Siddhivinayak. I urge every Mumbaikar to cast their vote because it is a quality of democracy which empowers you to voice your questions...".

She added, "The opposition is finding excuses for its defeat, with EVMs, Election Commission, ED, CBI... Mumbaikars will only vote for development... The mayor of Mumbai will be a Marathi manus, a Hindu, and the one whose heart beats for this city and wants to work for it...".

As Mumbai votes for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Maharashtra Election Commission has declared a public holiday on January 15 for various sectors, including the share market, schools and banks. Here's the full list

After casting his vote in the Nagpur civic polls on Thursday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said "When you opt for NOTA, you indirectly promote unwanted candidate."

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose annual budget is over Rs 74, 400 crore and is India's largest and richest civic body, 1,700 candidates are vying for 227 seats in elections being held after nine years, after a four-year delay. More than 25,000 police personnel have been deployed across Mumbai to oversee elections.

Voting is underway in 29 municipal corporations: Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations will conclude at 5.30 pm on Thursday. Vote count will take place on January 16.

Polling for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra began on Thursday morning. The spotlight is on the BMC polls in Mumbai where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is locked in an intense battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins for control of India's largest and richest civic body.