Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will be held till 1.30 pm on Thursday, the State Election Commission said.29.22 percent of the registered voters cast their votes. No major untoward incident has been reported so far.
Several prominent personalities from the film industry were seen arriving at polling booths across Mumbai and encouraged citizens to fulfill their democratic duty in the BMC elections.
• Bollywood couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan also voted in Mumbai for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
• Actress Shraddha Kapoor was among the celebrities who stepped out to vote during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
• Amid the growing controversy over alleged indelible ink, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday asserted that “free and fair voting” was being ensured in the local body elections in the state.
• Padma Shri awardee singer Kailash Kher was seen performing his civic duty at a polling booth in Mumbai. After voting, Kher appreciated the sense of responsibility shown by the people of the city and urged everyone to participate in the democratic process.
• Veteran actor and filmmaker Salim Khan cast his vote at a polling booth in Mumbai during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Thursday.
• Film director Rakesh Roshan also reached a polling booth in the city to exercise his franchise.
• Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday expressed concern over the fairness of the ongoing Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, saying he does not consider it a legitimate election if power is gained through fraud.
• Director and producer Zoya Akhtar also cast her vote in Mumbai.
• Famous devotional singer Anup Jalota also cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
• Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi casts her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai, as voting continued for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. Chaturvedi complained that she did not find her name in the voter list and was sent to another polling station where she could cast her vote. He urged citizens to vote in large numbers and exercise their franchise.
• Actor Suniel Shetty cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and urged citizens to actively participate in what he described as one of the most important civic elections.
• Singer and musician Vishal Dadlani, who arrived at a polling booth in Mumbai to cast his vote, expressed his disappointment over the low “public attendance” at the polling booth during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. After casting his vote, Dadlani spoke to the media outside the polling booth and said that it was “embarrassing” to see such low “public presence” at the booth and added that because of this he had now stopped “asking people to cast their vote”.
• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also cast his vote.
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge victorious in the local body elections, while appealing to citizens to exercise their franchise in large numbers.
• Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hema Malini also cast her vote and urged citizens to exercise their franchise. He said that Mumbai is the best city in the world, and only by exercising their franchise, citizens can make it even better.
• Bollywood actor John Abraham also reached his polling booth and cast his vote.
• Well-known lyricist and poet Gulzar arrived at a polling booth in Mumbai on Thursday to cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
• Actress Divya Dutta cast her vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Thursday.
• RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi cast his vote for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections on Thursday, as voting began in 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. He reiterated that voting is not only a right but also a constitutional duty of every citizen.
• Actor Akshay Kumar, his wife and writer Twinkle Khanna also arrived to cast their votes on Thursday morning. Twinkle was seen at the Gandhi Shikshan Bhawan polling booth during the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Mumbai.
• Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday cast his vote with his wife at a polling booth in Mumbai’s Malabar Hills during the Maharashtra local body 2026 elections.
• Shiv Sena leader Shayna NC cast her vote for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Thursday morning. He cast his vote at the polling booth located at Walsingam School in South Mumbai.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote in Nagpur and said, “Elections play a very important role in a democratic system; it is also the responsibility of the citizens. Therefore, keeping in mind the balanced thinking and public welfare, it is appropriate to vote for a candidate; it is our duty. It is the first responsibility of the day; hence, I came and cast my vote first.”
It is noteworthy that voting started at 7.30 am and will continue till 5.30 pm, counting of votes will take place on Friday.
These elections, which are being held after a long gap as the previous tenure of many municipal corporations ended in 2022, are a test of the strength of political parties at the grassroots level.
The ruling alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP and the opposition alliance of Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have faced fragmentation in the municipal elections, with the allies clashing with each other and joining hands with their traditional rivals in many places.
