Maharashtra civic polls: 55% turn out to vote in Panvel’s first ever municipal elections

The polls in two other municipal corporations—Bhiwandi and Malegaon— saw voter turnouts of 53% and 60%, respectively.

Panvel, Mumbai’s neighbouring town, went to polls for the first time after acquiring a municipal corporation last October, and recorded a voter turnout of 55% on Wednesday. The polls in two other municipal corporations—Bhiwandi and Malegaon— saw voter turnouts of 53% and 60%, respectively.

Residents look up their names on the voter list at a polling booth at Bhiwandi in Thane on Wednesday. (Praful Gangurde)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are eyeing the 78-seat Panvel Municipal Corporation. There is a contest between the Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Peasants and Workers’ Party (PWP) — which has formed an alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The Panvel civic body comprises areas from Kharghar to Panvel and also includes a few villages in the outskirts of Panvel city. The BJP is considered to be at an advantage in Panvel as there is large number of cosmopolitan voters in the urban areas of Panvel—Kharghar, Kamothe, Khandeshwar. The party hopes to win a majority of the 60 seats, in which it has fielded candidates. Sena, which is contesting the Panvel civic polls in alliance with Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, had campaigned hard against the BJP and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was the face of the party in the elections.

There were close to 12.96 lakh eligible voters for the 252 seats in the civic polls, the official said.

According to officials, the BJP had fielded 189, the Nationalist Congress Party 90, Congress 152, Shiv Sena 144 candidates across the three civic bodies. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has put up 25 candidates in Panvel.

The results of the three civic elections will be declared on May 26.