Maharashtra civic poll counting begins; BJP, Shiv Sena fate hangs in balance

Mangalore Today News Network

Feb 23, 2017: All eyes will be on the outcome of the fiercely-fought BMC elections as counting for polls to 10 municipal corporations and 25 zilla parishads across Maharashtra begins on Thursday morning.

Apart from Mumbai, the municipal corporations which went to the polls were Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri- Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.

The stakes are high for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who led their respective parties from the front and were involved in a no-holds-barred campaign, relegating the Opposition Congress, the NCP and other players like the MNS and the AIMIM to the background.

The turnout for 11 zilla parishads and 118 panchayat samiti polls yesterday was 69 percent.

The elections to 11 Zila Parishads and 118 Panchayat Samitis also are widely seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Millions of voters had exercised their franchise on Tuesday in Maharashtra to elect members of 10 major civic bodies, including India’s largest and richest civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation where many Bollywood celebrities cast their votes.

Counting for polls to 10 municipal corporations and 25 zilla parishads across Maharashtra begins on Thursday morning. All eyes will be on the outcome of the fiercely-fought ‪‪Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.