16 January,2026 04:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/PTI
A voter turnout of 52.94 per cent was recorded in the Mumbai civic polls, down from 55.53 per cent in the last elections in 2017, officials said on Friday.
According to data released by the civic body, ward number 114 in suburban Bhandup recorded the highest turnout at 64.53 per cent, while ward number 227 in south Mumbai's Colaba area reported the lowest turnout at 20.88 per cent.
Of the over 1.03 crore eligible voters in the metropolis, 52.94 per cent exercised their franchise on Thursday between 7.30 am and 5.30 pm, they said.
Over 15 hours after the polling, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared the final voter turnout.
Officials said counting of votes will start at 10 am at 25 designated counting centres across Mumbai.
The turnout on Thursday showed a steady rise, with 6.98 per cent voting till 9.30 am, 17.73 per cent till 11.30 am, 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm and 41.08 per cent till 3.30 pm, officials said.
The election to the 227-member BMC, which governs India's richest municipal corporation with a budget of Rs 74,400 crore, is being held after a long gap, making it a key political contest. Nearly 1,700 candidates are in the fray this time.
The last BMC polls were held in 2017 with a voter turnout of 55.53 per cent, and the term of the elected body ended in March 2022.
BMC Election Results 2026 LIVE: Ward-wise and Party-wise Counting Updates
Meanwhile, elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday, held after nine years, witnessed numerous complaints of electoral roll discrepancies, missing names, and mismatches between online records and physical voter lists, leading to confusion and delays.
Election staff and workers of political parties involved in the process too echoed voters' grievances, with many claiming that voter lists provided to them carried poorly printed photographs, making verification difficult and time-consuming.
Senior citizens and disabled voters faced problems due to the absence of volunteers to assist them, inadequate signage, missing booth numbers on voter slips and a lack of guidance at polling centres.
Several voters as well as opposition leaders including MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the indelible ink used during the polling could be easily wiped off using sanitiser, acetone or even water, raising concerns about the possibility of impersonation or multiple voting.
Some voters complained that although there was no official ban on carrying mobile phones inside polling stations provided they were switched off, police did not allow them to enter with their phones. At some polling stations, posters stating that mobile phones were not allowed were also seen.
In several instances, voters reported that details displayed on the election commission's official app and websites did not match the printed lists available at polling booths.
Many voters said their polling booths, which had remained unchanged for years, were either shifted or merged without adequate prior notice, forcing them to go from one help desk to another in search of their names.
