Mumbai staring at a fractured mandate

55% voting on Tuesday is the highest turnout seen in the last 25 years for the civic body.

MUMBAI: Mumbai appears to be giving a fractured mandate split primarily between the BJP and the Shiv Sena even as both parties claim they are gaining record polling in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation polls on Tuesday.

According to the State Election Commission, the interim figures of voting percentage in Mumbai stand at 55 percent. In the previous two elections, the voting percentage had remained confined to around 45 percent. The 10 percent increase in voting is likely to alter the political equations largely.

Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar pointed out that while in 2014 assembly polls the voting percentage was 54% his party had gained 15 out of 36 seats and had emerged the single largest party. “The same pattern appears to have been followed by voters today,” he added. Traditionally, there has been a chunk of around 140 to 160 seats in Mumbai that was ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine and then MNS in past few years. The fact that all these parties are contesting separately may increase this chunk, political analysts believe.

According to the final tally, the average voting percentage for the 10 Municipal corporations remained 56.30 percent, while that for the 11 Zilla Parishad and 118 Panchayat Samities stood at 69.43 percent. The voting percentage for various Municipal Corporations was as follows – Mumbai - 55, Thane - 58. Ulhasnagar - 45, Pune - 54, Pimpri-Chinchwad - 67, Solapur - 60, Nashik - 60 and Nagpur - 53.

Meanwhile, Axis-India Today exit poll too has said there would be a tough fight between the Shiv Sena and the BJP for the top slot. While Sena is likely to get 86 to 92 seats, the BJP is likely to get between 80 and 88 seats in Mumbai, the survey said. It has given 30-34 seats for the Congress, 5-7 for the MNS and 3-6 for the NCP. The exit poll also said the BJP would be the largest party in Nagpur and Pune Municipal Corporations, while the Sena would retain the Thane Municipal Corporation.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com