MMC election: Just 15.69% doctors cast vote in city

Nagpur: Voting for nine seats of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) recorded a poor turnout at the Nagpur centre on Sunday, with only 1,327 of 8,455 registered doctors casting their votes — a turnout of 15.69%.A total of 60 candidates are in the fray. The contest largely centred around four panels — ‘Healing Hands Unity Panel', ‘IMA MMC Panel', ‘Official IMA Maharashtra MMC Election-2026 Panel', and ‘IMA Yuva Panel' — along with several independents. Campaigns focused on transparency in the profession, protection of doctors' rights, and improving patient care.Rachana Indurkar supervised the polling as an election officer. Fourteen booths were set up on the second floor of the Super Speciality Hospital. The prevailing heatwave in Nagpur is believed to have discouraged many doctors from venturing out to vote. Ongoing summer vacations at govt medical institutions such as GMC and IGGMC also contributed to the low turnout.Issues with the voter list also affected participation. Several doctors reported missing names. In one instance, Dr Rahul Dagwar of IGGMCH could not vote as his name was listed in Mumbai.Minor objections were raised over promotional standees placed by some panels at hospital entrances, though no formal complaints were filed.Observers noted that the presence of three panels backed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) could split votes, making the low turnout a potentially decisive factor.With polling concluded, the medical fraternity is keenly awaiting the results, though the official date of declaration has not yet been announced.