Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) As voting is underway across Maharashtra for elections to 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Thursday appealed to citizens to actively participate in the democratic process and exercise their right to vote.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, Akshay Kumar said, “I would like to say this to all the people of Mumbai: everyone must vote. We often complain about issues such as water supply, electricity, bad roads, garbage, and other civic problems. Now it is our turn to act. Everyone should come out and vote to choose the right person. If Mumbai truly wants to be a hero, it is not about slogans or dialogues, just come and vote.”

Meanwhile, polling for the 29 municipal corporations began at 7.30 a.m. and will conclude at 5.30 p.m. While elections were originally scheduled for 2,869 seats, including 227 seats in the BMC, polling is now being held for 2,801 seats, as 68 candidates were elected unopposed. No voting will take place for these uncontested seats. A total of 3.48 crore voters will decide the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,729 candidates in Mumbai alone. The counting of votes will take place on January 16.

According to the State Election Commission, arrangements have been made across 39,147 polling stations, equipped with 43,958 Control Units and 87,916 Ballot Units. In Mumbai, there are 10,111 polling stations with 11,349 Control Units and 22,698 Ballot Units.

Elections are being held in municipal corporations across major cities, including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Amravati, Akola, Latur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Jalna, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Ichalkaranji, Ahilyanagar, and Ulhasnagar.

These elections are being conducted after a gap of more than six years, as the tenures of the municipal corporations ended between 2020 and 2023. Except for Mumbai, elections in the remaining 28 corporations are being held under the multi-member ward system, while Mumbai follows a single-member ward system.

–IANS

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