Mumbai: Voters were excited after voting began for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. However, several irregularities like EVMs being shut down and ink being erased raised questions about the electoral process. In this backdrop, Uddhav Thackeray held a press conference and launched a scathing attack on Devendra Fadnavis and the Election Commission. Accusing the Election Commissioner of acting as a disciple of the Chief Minister, he exposed the reality of the ruling party’s failure. Voting is underway across the state for 29 municipalities including BMC today and there is great enthusiasm among the voters. Queues of voters were seen at polling stations across the state since 7.30 am, and many political leaders and celebrities also attended polling stations in different areas to exercise their right to vote. However, there was a lot of chaos during this election. Some EVMs are being shut down, while some are being accused of erasing ink applied immediately after voting. The opposition has also targeted the Election Commission and the state government on all these issues. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray held the government accountable through a press conference and criticized it on several issues. On this occasion, he severely criticized Fadnavis. Before voting, both brothers Uddhav and Raj Thackeray met and also had darshan of Mamba Devi with their families, but the ruling party had criticized both of them. A question was asked to Uddhav today in this regard, and some also criticized that the Thackeray brothers are facing defeat. However, in response to this criticism, Uddhav Thackeray targeted Devendra Fadnavis.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attacks the opposition, not ink

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while criticizing the opposition and Uddhav Thackeray, denied the allegations of erasing the electoral mark with a marker, calling it baseless and said that I have also exercised my right to vote and a mark has been made on my finger with a marker, so has this mark been erased or can it be erased by erasing it? He criticized Uddhav Thackeray and said that ink should be marked with oil paint. There is a right to transparent elections in a democracy. He criticized the opposition and said that the opposition is looking for excuses even before the defeat, their slate is old, now it should be changed.

Under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation General Elections 2025-26, the letter sent by the Returning Officer – 21 (Ward No. 200 to 206) to all the candidates regarding postal ballot on 8th January 2026 was inadvertently circulated. The said letter has been withdrawn with immediate effect and a revised letter has been issued in its place. Accordingly, on Thursday, 15th January 2026 at 3.00 PM, the postal ballot boxes will not be taken out of the strong room. As per the order of the State Election Commission, Maharashtra, the postal ballot boxes along with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) will be taken out of the strong room on the day of counting i.e. Friday, 16th January 2026. Accordingly, all the Returning Officers have informed that the candidates or their representative should be appointed at the appointed time. Ward wise segregation of postal ballot papers will also be done at the same time.

Mumbai, Jan 13: As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections draw near, a wave of resentment is surging through the residential pockets of Wards 172, 177 and 178, including Sion (E), Matunga (E) and Wadala.

Citizens in these areas have accused their prospective representatives of “political cowardice”, alleging that candidates are deliberately avoiding direct engagement with educated voters.

The friction stems from a citizen-led initiative in which residents and members of the F-North Ward Citizens’ Federation, Petition Group Foundation and Hindu Colony Residents’ Association drafted a comprehensive questionnaire designed to test the candidates’ merit, technical knowledge of urban issues, and specific plans for the wards. According to the group, the response from all nine candidates has been a resounding silence.

Residents alleged that while candidates are visible during loud rallies and padyatras, they vanish the moment they are asked to sit down for a Q&A session.

They added that while a few candidates initially agreed to speak with citizens at a ‘Meet Your Candidate’ event, they discontinued conversations immediately after being asked to respond to the questionnaire.

According to the residents, the six-page-long questionnaire involved questions about the candidates’ achievements, important issues in the ward, their vision to solve these issues and other commitments. It also asked candidates to share details of their qualifications, criminal history, profession and income.

Residents alleged that candidates have been targeting “soft audiences” and areas where they can distribute doles, rather than facing “aware and educated” citizens who demand accountability. Residents of these wards said they want to shift the election narrative from party loyalty to individual merit.

Chetan Trivedi, a member of Petition Group, said, “The candidates did not confirm their time for the meeting when we requested them to fill the questionnaire because they wanted a scripted talk. Ultimately, none of them accepted the request for public interaction.”