Mumbai, January 15: Confusion over voter details and the absence of voting slips disrupted polling at several booths in Mumbai on Thursday, leaving some voters frustrated and unable to exercise their franchise
during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
A Mumbaikar who arrived at his designated polling station to cast his vote said discrepancies between online voter information and booth level records forced him to leave without voting. “The number we found on the internet does not match here. This is organisational failure. I have to go without casting my vote,” he told ANI, visibly disappointed after waiting in queues.
Delays Trigger Frustration At Polling Booths
Similar concerns were echoed by Avinash Gowariker, brother of filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, who arrived early to vote in the 2026 Maharashtra civic elections. Speaking to ANI, Gowariker said while the overall arrangements were satisfactory, the lack of voting slips caused avoidable delays.
“I voted today. Everything is good, the venue is comfortable, there is no problem with anything except the fact that there are no voting slips. I do not know why. Because of this, people are trying to find their voting numbers, so each vote takes about five minutes,” he said.
Gowariker added that the enthusiasm among voters was dampened by long queues and confusion. “People have come with so much excitement, but they are met with these queues, so they are going back. I do not know why the parties this year have not managed to issue the election slips. That is the only concern,” he said.
High Stakes Civic Battle Across Maharashtra
Meanwhile, polling is underway across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra after an intense campaign. The elections are being closely watched in major urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Pimpri Chinchwad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena are contesting as allies under the Mahayuti banner in most cities, except Pune, while the Nationalist Congress Party is fighting independently in several corporations.
Polling Details And Voter Numbers
According to the State Election Commission, around 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up statewide.
Polling began at 7.30 am on Thursday and will continue until 5.30 pm, with counting scheduled for Friday, January 16.
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