Junior college students to be deployed as volunteers at polling booths in Mumbai's Andheri West

MUMBAI: Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s general elections scheduled for January 15, 2026, the election department has directed junior colleges in Andheri West to provide student volunteers at polling stations to assist voters.

As per an official order issued by the election officer of K-West ward, junior college students will be deployed as volunteers at polling centres across areas including Juhu, Oshiwara, Lokhandwala and Versova. Priority will be given to students from NCC and Scout and Guide units, though the order states that a maximum number of students will need to be engaged to ensure adequate voter facilitation.





The order states that volunteers will assist senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other voters who may require help on polling day. It further notes that there are 126 polling centres in K-West ward and that volunteers will be required in large numbers to ensure smooth conduct of polling.

College principals have been asked to submit lists of selected students at the earliest, following which further deployment instructions will be issued by the election office.

The move has drawn objections from the Maharashtra Progressive Teachers’ Union (MPTU), which said in a letter that the education sector is already under pressure due to the large-scale deployment of teachers and non-teaching staff for election duties. MPTU state president Tanaji Kamble said that involving students amounted to “offloading the entire burden of election management onto the education system”.

When contacted on whether a similar arrangement could be extended to other parts of the city during the civic polls, officials from the education department said they were not aware of any such directive being issued beyond K-West ward.