BMC Exit poll results: Voting for 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra, including BMC, was held till 5.30 pm. Polling was being conducted for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in the state to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,700 in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune.
The spotlight is on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's richest civic body with an annual budget of over ₹74, 400 crore, where 1,700 candidates are vying for 227 seats in elections being held after a four-year delay.
Mumbai recorded about 50 per cent turnout, officials said adding that the final turnout will be announced later.
Most of the exit polls have predicted a smooth victory for BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in BMC polls. Exit polls done by Axis My India, the JVC, and Sakal have predicted a sweep for the ruling alliance of Maharashtra in Mumbai’s corporation.
Axis My India exit poll shows that Mahayuti Alliance is projected to win 131-151 seats while the JVC exit poll shows that the alliance would secure 138 seats. Sakal,, has predicted that Mahayuti will emerge victorious in 119 seats.
The JVC exit poll has predicted a massive win for BJP-led Mahayuti, which is projected to get 138 seats, while the Uddhav and Raj Thackeray alliance is expected to get 59 seats in Mumbai.
Remember, exit polls have historically been known to be inaccurate. The actual results will be known only after the counting of voters begins at 10 am on Friday.
The predictions are based on voter feedback collected by survey agencies after the polling. While the idea behind exit polls is to accurately reflect public sentiment before the actual results are announced, their accuracy has faced scrutiny in the past.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti is locked in a keen battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins - Raj and Uddhav - heading MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), respectively, for control of the cash-rich BMC, which has an annual budget of more than ₹74,000 crore. The NCP, its rival NCP (SP), Congress, Samajwadi Party, among others, are also in the fray.
