New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance looks set for a clear victory as counting of votes nears the end in one of the most keenly watched civic contests in the country on Friday, January 16. This is amid burning issues like the use of non-indelible ink, voters not being able to find their names on the lists, and allegations of cash distribution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening posted a congratulatory message on the performance of his National Democratic Alliance in the state's numerous civic body elections. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Maharashtra,” he wrote on X.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday afternoon had congratulated chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde as well as party workers as trends showed the Mahayuti alliance likely to win comfortably across the state, including in Mumbai.

"This victory will give further momentum to the Mahayuti government in the state, which is racing ahead on the path of development. I am confident that the journey towards a progressive Maharashtra will gain even greater strength under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Devendra ji," he wrote on X.

The elections to 2,869 seats, across 893 wards in Maharashtra, took place a day ago. Among civic bodies which went to polls are Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Mira Bhayandar, and others.

These elections have been keenly watched because of a number of factors. While many civic bodies were going to polls after significant gaps – some after eight to nine years – issues of urban governance took a backseat this time as communalisation took centre-stage.

Noteworthy also was the fact that alliances took on new meaning in some seats – with parties across the purported ideological divide joining hands in some seats.

In the BMC – often called the world's richest civic body – the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance led in the largest number of seats, as per the latest trends.

The Mahayuti alliance also registered a solid performance in the Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Thane civic polls.

Celebrations have already begun the BJP offices as the party looks set to win most of the 29 municipal corporations in the state.

Among the victories announced so far, however, is also journalist Gauri Lankesh murder-accused Shrikant Pangarkar, who fought the civic polls as an independent candidate. He was seen celebrating with his supporters at the Jalna municipal corporation.

As The Wire reported a day ago, polling in the BMC elections sparked controversy after many claimed that officials were using a marker for voters instead of the usual practice of marking fingers with indelible ink. Videos showed voters purportedly removing the marks with sanitiser or nail polish remover.

As opposition parties alleged voter fraud, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare shifted from denial to damage control, promising a probe into ink composition, especially silver nitrate content, and seeking clarification from the ink supplier Kores. He said that procurement details were not immediately available, Midday reported. Opposition leaders called it an attack on democracy, while the BJP and Fadnavis dismissed the claims as baseless.

Sharing the Midday article on X, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said, “Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act."

India Today has reported, meanwhile, that party workers have been going door to door with cash.

A report quoted a resident of New Panvel saying that two men entered a gated high-rise community and offered cash. “When I opened the door, two men stood there. They took my husband’s name and said they had come to hand over money for the local civic body voting scheduled for January 15," the resident was quoted as having said.

She later learnt from a neighbour that the envelopes being distributed contained Rs 2,000 for each household, the report said.

Nationalist Congress Party's Anish Gawande wrote on X that across Maharashtra, voters have been unable to find their names on physical voter lists. Some also noted that relevant websites were down. ANI quoted a voter as having said, "The number we found on the internet does not match here. This is organisational failure... I have to go without casting my vote..."

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