Counting of votes for elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra will begin at 10 am on Sunday, a day after polling ended amid reports of violence, alleged impersonation and cash distribution.
Voting for the posts of presidents and members in 23 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, along with 143 vacant member posts, concluded at 5.30 pm on Saturday. The elections covered several key civic bodies, including Baramati in Pune district and Ambernath in Thane district, both of which attracted intense political attention.
Polling concludes, counting begins Sunday
With ballot boxes sealed and polling stations closed, all eyes are now on the counting centres. The results are expected to shape local power equations and offer early signals ahead of larger civic battles in the state.
Baramati, a long-time political focal point, and Ambernath, a fast-growing urban area, are being closely watched for trends that could influence future contests.
Violence and alleged irregularities mar polling day
Polling day was not without controversy. Multiple incidents of election-related violence and alleged malpractices were reported from different parts of Maharashtra.
In Ambernath, tensions escalated after clashes broke out between two groups, prompting police to resort to a lathi-charge. Authorities detained 208 women who had reportedly arrived from nearby Bhiwandi.
Opposition parties alleged that the women were brought in for impersonation and bogus voting. However, the women denied the allegations, saying they had come to attend a public meeting.
In another case, a person was found carrying ₹35,000, leading police to register a first information report. Separately, clashes were also reported between Shiv Sena and Congress workers in other areas of the state.
Cash-for-abstention claims surface in Nanded
Serious allegations emerged from Dharambad in Nanded district, where women were allegedly confined in a hall and prevented from voting in exchange for money to abstain from casting their ballots.
Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Shiv Sena of orchestrating the incident.
Nanded district collector Rahul Kardile said the administration acted on intelligence inputs related to cash distribution. “We had information that money was being distributed in a hall, but the people left before the team reached there. We filed an FIR on the hall management for violating prohibitory orders,” he said.
Municipal results seen as prelude to BMC showdown
Sunday’s counting is also being seen as a warm-up to the next major political test in Maharashtra. The State Election Commission has announced that elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and 28 other municipal corporations will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.
A total of 2,869 seats will be contested across these civic bodies, with 3.48 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots.
The upcoming municipal corporation polls, particularly the BMC election, are expected to be fiercely contested. Allegations of “vote chori” and an intense rivalry between the BJP and Shiv Sena have already set the tone for what promises to be a high-stakes political battle.
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