Mumbai: The schedule for the Maharashtra assembly elections was announced by the election commission on October 15, and since then Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect in the state. In a significant action against violation of the code of conduct, the enforcement agencies have seized a whopping property costing Rs 10.64 crore in the last three days. The authorities also informed that a total of 420 complaints regarding violations of the MCC were received on the C-Vigil app, of 414 are resolved.

As per the statement issued by the authorities, “The Model Code of Conduct for the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections came into effect on October 15, 2024. Between October 15 and October 18, 2024, a total of 420 complaints were received across the state through the C-Vigil app, out of which 414 complaints have been resolved by the Election Commission.”

Notably, 256 complaints were addressed within 100 minutes. The highest number of complaints were resolved in Thane district.

“Since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct for the Assembly elections, various enforcement agencies of the state government have seized illegal cash, liquor, drugs, and valuable metals worth a total of Rs 10.64 crore,” the statement further read.

The Mumbai Municipal Corporation pulled down as much as 7,389 banners, posters, and flags displayed throughout the city in the 48 hours after the model code of conduct for the upcoming state assembly elections came into effect from Wednesday.

By Thursday at 6 pm, the civic team from the license department had taken action, removing 4,115 religious banners, 2,006 boards, 555 posters, along with 356 political banners, 263 boards, 48 posters, and 196 commercial banners, 20 boards, 6 posters, and 679 flags.

Over 25,000 Campaign Materials Removed In Pune

In the first 48 hours after the MCC came in place for the Maharashtra assembly election, a total of 25,860 campaign materials were removed with immediate effect from public properties and their premises, the Pune collector and District election officer informed.

The campaign materials removed across the district included 1,919 graffitis, 7,292 posters, 2,117 billboards, 4,580 banners, 2,854 flags, and 7,098 other materials.

The Election Commission of India has encouraged the voters to report any violations of the code of conduct using the Cvigil App. Complaints submitted through the app are resolved within 100 minutes. Additionally, voters can call the helpline number 1950 for further assistance.

Mumbai: The total ridership on Mumbai’s Aqua Line, also known as Metro 3, has exceeded the 200,000-passenger mark just 10 days after opening to the public, according to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC). The highest number of commuters has been recorded at Marol Naka station, which serves as an interchange with the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) Metro 1 line.

An MMRC official confirmed that the ridership surpassed 2,00,000 a few days ago, though the latest data was still pending, as reported by Hindustan Times. Between October 7 and October 15, over 198,000 passengers travelled between Aarey and Bandra Kurla Complex on the Aqua Line. On the first day of service, October 7, 18,015 commuters used the line, while the average daily ridership during the first nine days was around 22,043 passengers.

MetroConnect3 Mobile App Used By Several Passengers For Ticket Booking

Of the nearly 200,000 commuters, 11,213 purchased their tickets using the MetroConnect3 mobile app, which allows passengers to book tickets from anywhere in the city and requires them to begin their journey within three hours of booking.

Marol Naka station saw the highest footfall among the Aqua Line stations, with 39,887 passengers recorded over nine days, resulting in a daily average of 4,432. Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) station also saw significant traffic, with 31,977 passengers and a daily average of 3,553.

Additionally, Marol Naka station on the blue line (Metro 1) saw a rise in passengers, with a daily average of 45,700 between October 7 and October 11, a 10.12% increase from the daily average of 41,500 recorded between September 30 and October 4.

Arrangements To Manage Increased Footfall

To manage the increased footfall, MMOPL (Mumbai Metro One Private Limited) officials made several adjustments at Marol Naka, including expanding the passage area, adding more security checkpoints, installing additional fare collection gates and setting up directional signage to guide passengers towards the Aqua Line.

Transport experts attribute the increased footfall to Marol Naka’s role as an interchange station. AV Shenoy, a member of the Mumbai Mobility Forum, while speaking to HT, emphasized the importance of connecting multiple modes of public transport, noting that similar integration with suburban railway networks will be crucial as more metro lines are introduced.

During the October 7-11 period, the VAG Metro 1 corridor saw an average of 502,500 passengers daily, compared to 498,500 between September 30 and October 4. MMOPL officials noted that weekend ridership tends to drop by more than 50%.

The first phase of Metro 3, Mumbai’s first underground metro line, opened on October 7 and operates from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm on weekdays and 8:30 am to 10:30 pm on Sundays, with fares ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50.

Mumbai: Just when it seemed that the Mahayvuti was in cruise mode, there has arisen a sudden, vociferous demand by the Shiv Sena to project Chiel Minister Eknath Shinde as the CM face in the upcoming state assembly election.

On Wednesday, when Mahayut leaders, including CM Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were addressing the media, a question was asked about its CM face. At that time, Fadnavis had said, “Our CM is here” pointing at Shinde. This was taken as an endorsement by the state BJP for Shinde to be the CM once again.

Punha Ekanth Shinde ch Mukhya Mantri: Shiv Sena

When it was perceived that everything was smooth and going well, Shrikant Shinde, Lok Sabha member from Kalyan and son of CM Shinde convened a meeting with the party office bearers on Friday at Shivaji Mandir, Dadar. Here it was made loud and clear that the party wants CM Shinde to be projected as the CM face. A short film labelled as “Punha Ekanth Shinde ch Mukhya Mantri” (Ekanth Shinde as CM once again) was also released prior to the meeting.

Political sources say it indicates that all was not well and the meeting called by the MP son was a clear indication that the Shiv Sena has devised its strategy for the assembly elections. According to them, during one of his recent meetings with senior BJP leaders, Shinde demanded that he should be projected as the CM face but no concrete assurance was given.

Meanwhile, during the meeting at Dadar, the Sena leaders chanted slogans in support of Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister. Those present for the meeting includes Rajya Sabha member Milind Deora, MP Ravindra Waikar, MLC Manisha Kayande, Ex MP Rahul Shewale and others.

Sena MLAs Praising Eknath Shinde

According to the agency reports, Chandivali MLA Dilip Lande praised the CM and said, “Nath ke Nath, Eknath Shinde hai.” “Eknath Shinde is a people’s person, he is a supreme being who always comes forward to help us and others,” said Lande.

Magathane MLA Prakash Surve took a dig at Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders and said, “Everybody knows who is the real traitor. I organized a marathon in the national park earlier, we got tired of waiting but these people Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray never picked up our calls.These people are not helpful, they are just pretenders, they should be really ousted.”

Addressing the meeting, Shirkant Shinde said that it was a question of working for one month, we want a Mahayuti government again in Maharashtra. We just need to go to the people and make them aware of the government schemes. No matter how much the opposition may abuse him, the people have great love for Eknath Shinde.

MLC Manisha Kayande said the alliance is contesting the election under Eknath Shinde’s leadership.

As the ruling Mahayuti alliance gears up for Maharashtra assembly polls next month, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has emerged as an influential political figure who seeks to balance tradition with modernity, effectively handles a crisis and delivers on promises.