Town Vending Committee polls conclude with 49.46% average voter turnout

15,537 of 32,415 eligible Mumbai hawkers voted in the first Town Vending Committee election with a 49.46% turnout. Vote counting is on hold per Supreme Court orders.

Mumbai: As many as 15,537 out of the total 32,415 eligible hawkers in Mumbai voted Thursday, in the maiden election held for electing members of the Town Vending Committee (TVC), recording a turnout of 49.46%. The zone 7, which consists of Borivali, Kandivali and Dahisar wards, recorded the highest number of voter turnout at 63.51%.

Town Vending Committee polls conclude with 49.46% average voter turnout

The TVC polls are crucial for the allotment of licences to hawkers and also giving them a say in policymaking.

The structure of the TVC consists of one central town vending committee and seven zonal committees. Each committee comprises 20 members, with 12 being nominated and eight being representatives of hawkers. These hawker representatives were to be elected in this election process.

The civic body said that according to the directions from the Supreme Court, the vote counting and results will be held in abeyance. All ballot boxes have been securely stored in a strong room. Further actions will be taken as soon as the court’s orders are received.

A total of 237 candidates were in the fray for the posts of eight committees. Out of these, 190 were male and 47 female candidates. Meanwhile, out of the total 64 seats in all the seven constituencies, including Shikhar Samiti, not a single candidate had filed nomination for 10 seats. Since there was only one nomination for each of the 17 seats, the 17 candidates were elected unopposed. So, for the remaining 37 seats, voting was held. BMC has a total of 32,415 voters.

As per the pre-arranged procedure, the results were expected to be declared immediately after the polling. However, the Supreme Court had directed on August 28, 2024, to reserve the counting of votes as well as the results after completing the voting process. As per the directions of the SC, polling of registered street vendors has taken place.

Under the central government’s Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act - 2014, in accordance with the provisions of Maharashtra Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules - 2016, as per the directions of the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Council Administration Directorate as well as the Coordinating Officer (Vendor Policy), the Municipal Street Vendor Committee has been constituted.