Maharashtra civic polls: Debutant Ichalkaranji tops turnout at 69.8%; overall voting likely near 60%

PUNE: The small city of Ichalkaranji registered an impressive 69.8% voter turnout, the highest among the 29 municipal corporations that went to polls on Thursday. Ichalkaranji is having its debut civic elections; its municipality was formed in 2023.

State election officials said they expect overall voter turnout to be near 60%, higher than previous years.

Official turnout figures in Nashik and Kolhapur were announced later in the day. In Nashik, it was 56.6% while Kolhapur registered 66.5%.




By evening, election officials estimated Pune city had nearly 54% voting while Pimpri Chinchwad saw 58%. Mumbai was in the range of 54-56%, with the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region also reporting good turnouts. Among other corporations, Ahilyanagar was provisionally at 64%, Malegaon at 63%, Jalgaon at 53%, and Dhule at 52%. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, turnout was estimated at 60%. As of 5.30pm, Nagpur had recorded 52% turnout, Akola 55.6%, Amravati 53.7%.

State election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said he expected the voting percentage to be higher by 5% from previous municipal corporation elections. “It was around 55% in the last elections and it is likely to go up to 60% in these polls,” he said. Voting for 29 municipal corporations, except two newly formed bodies, was held after a gap of 9-11 years.

Voting was largely peaceful, but incidents were reported in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, and Latur. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, there were tensions after vehicles deployed to pick up Shiv Sena supporters were pelted with stones although no FIR was filed till late evening. In Jalna, police said a non-cognisable offence was registered after a person was caught allegedly casting a vote on someone else’s behalf. In Latur, police booked one person for allegedly distributing “saris to women voters” late on Wednesday.

The turnout projections are expected to allay some concerns. Rajas Parchure, former director of the Gokhale Institute of Economics, said low voter turnout is likely to hurt ruling parties that plan campaigns based on expected participation levels. “When overall turnout dips, participation among educated and urban voters tends to fall even more. Urban apathy towards local body elections continues, largely due to a weak connect with elected representatives. There is a clear disconnect,” he said.

Chandrakant Bhujbal of the Political Research & Analysis Bureau in Pune said drops in final voter turnout would be alarming considering civic polls were held after a gap of almost a decade.

“Voter apathy would be visible, with little evidence of spontaneous participation. Shortcomings of the election authorities and unscrupulous conduct of political parties may be factors if turnouts are low,” he said. Bhujbal pointed to the complexity of casting four votes. In corporations under the four-ward systems, many voters said they were confused and overwhelmed by the number of candidates. “Equally responsible is the lack of political ethics—lastminute defections, ill-conceived alliances and confusing fronts have left educated voters unsure about whom to vote for and why. This negativity appears to have directly impacted turnout,” he said.