Mumbai: BMC gears up for polls, asks people to shed apathy and vote in large numbers

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is geared up for Tuesday's elections for 227 municipal wards in which 2275 candidates are in the fray.

As Mumbai is known for the voter apathy, the BMC has appealed to the voters to come out in large numbers and cast their votes.

"We are ready to help you exercise your franchise. Please take part in this democratic process tomorrow from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm and cast your vote," the Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta said in a statement.

He said the civic body was fully prepared to hold the election across 227 electoral wards through 7304 polling booths at 1582 places.

Out of 91,80,491 registered voters, 50,30,361 are male, 49,49,749 female and 381 transgenders.

A senior official overseeing the poll preparations said, "All preparatory work to conduct free and fair is completed. We have gone extra mile to ensure smooth voting and good turnout. We are spending almost Rs 95 crore for over 91 lakh voters, which roughly goes over Rs 100 per voter." He said the civic body had appealed to Mumbaikars to shed apathy and "get rid of the record of staging poor turnout in elections."

The voting percentage in the BMC polls held in 2007 and 2012 stood at 42% and 45% respectively.