3 min readMumbaiJan 14, 2026 06:59 PM IST
First published on: Jan 14, 2026 at 06:59 PM IST
As Mumbai gears up for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Thursday, officials have indicated that the counting of votes will take place in batches, with two constituencies being counted at a time. Unlike in 2017, when the counting process was conducted all at once, this year it will be performed in a phased manner across 23 different locations throughout the city and suburbs on January 16, drawing criticism from the political circles.
In Mumbai, each returning officer (RO) has been assigned a minimum of 10 constituencies under his or her administrative jurisdiction. Therefore, at a given time, the counting of votes of two constituencies under a single RO’s jurisdiction will be carried out. Once the counting of these two constituencies is over, the authorities will move on to count votes for the next constituencies.
The officers said that there are more than 20 ROs for Mumbai, and with two constituencies being counted at a given time it will cover the total of 227 wards.
“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,” said an officer on Wednesday.
According to authorities, this year, 64,000 civic workers have been deployed for counting of votes, an increase of 30.6 per cent from 2017.
During the 2017 civic body polls, counting of votes was taken up simultaneously across all counting centres. Similarly, during the 2024 Assembly elections, votes were counted simultaneously across constituencies.
Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh said that the change in the vote-counting process was not required. “What is the point of changing the system suddenly. These kinds of activities may disrupt the flow of trends,” Shaikh said.
Shaikh’s son, Haider, is contesting the polls for the first time from ward number 34.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena UBT leader and former Mayor, Vishakha Raut, has also questioned the move. “The simultaneous method of counting is much more transparent in nature.”
Mumbai is set to witness the local body polls after nearly nine years on Thursday (January 15). After the polling, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be transported to two strongrooms at Mumbai’s Vikhroli and Kandivali. On Friday, they will be brought to 23 stations for counting.
The BJP’s renewed aggression in the local body elections, particularly for the BMC, has taken many by surprise. (Express photo by Arul Horizon) 
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