Overview
- Polling ended Thursday across 29 municipal corporations, with the SEC citing 41.13% turnout by 3:30 pm and withholding final figures to avoid controversy.
- Disruptions included EVM snags that prompted replacements, viral claims of erasable indelible ink under probe, and a reported firing incident investigated in Jalgaon.
- Police acted on allegations of bogus voting and cash distribution, detaining over 200 women in Ambernath and reviewing irregular roll entries such as a single father listed for 268 voters in Panvel.
- Confusion over electoral rolls and booth changes drew complaints in Mumbai and Pune, and Forest Minister Ganesh Naik cast his ballot only after officials resolved his missing-name issue.
- As counting begins January 16, the SEC says 140 BEL-made PADU units for the BMC will be used only in exceptional failures, while opposition leaders demand transparency and the commissioner’s suspension; the Bombay High Court earlier declined to intervene on alleged mass withdrawals.