Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | As V-Day arrives, can maximum city 'cast aside' voter apathy, record high turnout?

Mumbai: As Maharashtra goes to polls on November 20, all eyes will be on Mumbai, where 420 candidates are in the fray for 36 assembly constituencies, to see if the metropolis can overcome voter apathy of the past and record a high turnout.

More than 1 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the financial capital, which accounts for 36 of the state's 288 assembly constituencies, and is home to industry leaders and prominent politicians.

On Tuesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it has completed all preparations for smooth conduct of the assembly elections on Wednesday (November 20).

As per the civic body, Mumbai has a total 10,117 booths located at 2,085 locations, where voting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm.

Of the total candidates in the fray, 105 are contesting from the 10 constituencies in the island city, while 315 nominees are vying for the 26 seats in the suburbs.

For the first time, Mumbai's voter count has suppressed the one crore mark. Mumbai has 1,02,29,708 eligible electors -- 25,43,610 in the island city and 76,86,098 in the suburbs.

After the Lok Sabha polls in April-May-June, 53,372 new voters were added in the island city limits and 2,37,715 in the suburban areas.

Among the total voters in Mumbai, 54,67,361 are males, 47,61,265 females, and 1,082 transgender persons. Also, 1,46,859 voters are above 85 years, while 23,928 are divyangs (persons with disability). The metropolis has 2,288 overseas electors and 1,475 service voters.

The Election Commission (EC) has approved 12 identification documents for voters such as Aadhaar card, driving licence and passport among others. Voters will have to carry any one of these documents to enter polling centres and cast their ballots.

Authorities have already clarified that voters won't be permitted to carry their mobile phones inside polling stations.

Polling teams, equipped with 14,172 ballot units, 12,120 control units, and 13,131 VVPATs (Voter verifiable paper audit trail), have been dispatched to their respective centres across the metropolis, an official release said.

More than 46,816 officers and employees, supported by 25,696 police personnel, will oversee the voting process, it said.

Special provisions have been made for senior citizens and differently-abled voters, including free transport services with 997 vehicles, 3,388 wheelchairs, and dedicated volunteers, they said.

As per EC directives, facilities like drinking water, clean toilets, waiting rooms, wheelchairs and volunteers for divyang voters, fans, dustbins, medical kits, and signboards have been provided at every voting station.

Voters can contact the helpline at 1950 for assistance, the release said.

Civic transport undertaking BEST has given 657 buses of its fleet of 2,807 for election duty.

Mumbai Metro One, Maha Mumbai Metro, and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, along with the Central Railway, have announced to extend their operation hours for the convenience of polling staff.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the BMC said essential facilities, robust security arrangements, and deployment of polling staff have been finalized, with officers and employees working round the clock to ensure a seamless voting process.

In the release, district election officer and BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani urged citizens to exercise their franchise, emphasizing the importance of strengthening democracy through active participation in polls.

"To ensure transparency and vigilance, webcasting systems have been installed at all polling stations, with live monitoring set up at the BMC headquarters (in south Mumbai). Gagrani inspected these arrangements on Tuesday," the civic body said.

Assembly election results will be declared on November 23.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.