BMC deploys 2,299 officials for counting votes at 23 centres

The BMC said dedicated counting rooms have been set up at all counting centres and will remain under police protection. “The results will be displayed in a computer system to ensure that there is transparency,” officials said.

Earlier this week, civic authorities said the counting process would be carried out in batches, with votes from two constituencies being counted at a time. Unlike the 2017 civic polls, when counting was conducted simultaneously across all centres, this year the process will be carried out in a phased manner at 23 locations across the city and suburbs on January 16, a move that has drawn criticism from political parties.

In Mumbai, each returning officer has been assigned at least 10 constituencies. At any given time, votes from two constituencies under a single returning officer’s jurisdiction will be counted. Once this is completed, counting will proceed to the next set of constituencies.

Officials said there are more than 20 returning officers in Mumbai, and with two constituencies being counted at a time, votes from all 227 wards will be covered.

“Since these are local body polls, the number of seats is higher. In an Assembly election, there are 36 seats, but in civic body polls, there are 227 seats. Therefore, if we carry out the counting of votes in a phased manner, we will be able to carry out the process smoothly with the number of human resources that we have,” an officer said on Wednesday.

According to civic authorities, nearly 64,000 workers have been deployed for the counting process this year, an increase of 30.6 per cent compared to 2017.

In the 2017 civic polls, counting was conducted simultaneously across all centres. Similarly, votes in the 2024 Assembly elections were counted at the same time across constituencies.