Redrawing ward boundaries a herculean task before BMC to avoid delay in holding elections

A day after Maharashtra cabinet’s decision to increase Mumbai civic body’s strength from 227 to 236 members, the State Election Commission (SEC) said a delay in redrawing ward boundaries may result in deferment of elections slated for early 2022

A day after Maharashtra cabinet’s decision to increase Mumbai civic body’s strength from 227 to 236 members, the State Election Commission (SEC) said a delay in redrawing ward boundaries may result in deferment of elections slated for early 2022.

With less than three months to the BMC elections, civic authorities on Thursday said electoral wards are most likely to increase in Mumbai’s suburbs, bases on population density. The civic body’s election department has been tasked with redrawing the ward boundaries. (Hindustan Times)

With less than three months to the BMC elections, civic authorities on Thursday said electoral wards are most likely to increase in Mumbai’s suburbs, bases on population density. The civic body’s election department has been tasked with redrawing the boundaries.

BMC said it will divide Mumbai’s population with 236 to determine the population requirement per ward before boundaries are redrawn. A plus or minus 10% difference in this figure will be accepted as the number of voters per ward. If any present electoral ward is beyond the above figure, geographical parts of it will be extracted to add to a new ward. This will likely have a ripple effect on all or neighbouring electoral wards.

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner and the officer in-charge of preparations for the upcoming elections, said, “After we have determined how many voters per ward is feasible, we might find that the population density of some existing wards is within this limit. In such a case, it may not require any change. If any ward has a population exceeding this limit, we will extract some areas from the ward to create new electoral wards. The process will start soon.”

Civic authorities said this process will not delay the elections, and is likely to be completed within the stipulated time.

An SEC officer said, “To hold the elections in time, we will have to announce them between January 1 and 10. If demarcation notification is issued by end of November and the suggestion/objections invited in two weeks after that, we could still hold the elections as per the schedule. It is now up to the BMC to complete the process in the stipulated time. All other municipal corporations have begun the process and are expected to complete it within the deadline.”

The BMC currently has 227 elected representatives (called corporators) across 24 administrative wards formed on the basis of the 2011 census. The 2021 census was delayed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. A delimitation process is undertaken to ensure that all electoral wards largely have the same amount of population.

Once the boundaries for 236 wards are prepared, the data will be sent to SEC, which will then invite suggestions and objections.

However, corporators are concerned at the time available for election campaigns. Prabhakar Shinde, BJP leader in BMC said, “This is a clear indication that Shiv Sena is afraid of losing its hold over the civic body, as such an impactful decision has been taken on such short notice. Voters will also be confused.”