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As Mumbai goes to the polls for the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant on Thursday spoke on the alliance of the Thackarey brothers in this election, hailing it as a "stroke of luck".
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, Sawant expressed immense joy over the political reunion of cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray. "I am very happy. The greatest stroke of luck today is that for the first time, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have come together", he said, highlighting the impact of their reunion after 20 years. He underscored the importance of voting for the people and encouraged them to exercise their right. "Every voter must exercise their right to vote," he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in alliance with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Voting for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra is currently underway. By 1:30 pm, voter turnout stood at 29.22% across these 29 corporations. Meanwhile, a sluggish voting trend was observed across 29 municipalities in Maharashtra, with only 17.41% voter turnout by 11:30 am, according to the State Election Commission. Polling for BMC and 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra commenced on Thursday morning at 7.30 am, and will continue till 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16. The main political battle remains centred on Mumbai and Pune, where the BJP-led Mahayuti will face the united Thackeray camp, as just ahead of the Civic poll, both parties' Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of Marathi Manus in a high-stakes fight for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017. According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39092 Polling centre has been set up across the state. (ANI)
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