Maharashtra Civic Polls 2026: Chaos At Polling Booths In Akola Over Lapse In Identity Checks For Burqa-Clad Women

Maharashtra Civic Polls 2026: Voting is underway for elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Mumbai. While the early morning hours saw a lukewarm response from voters, participation is now gradually picking up. According to official data released till 11:30 am, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recorded 17.58 per cent voter turnout.

Complaints have emerged from several polling booths since morning. Reports indicate instances of attempts at double voting, efforts to wipe off indelible ink after voting to facilitate bogus voting, and other irregularities. In Muslim-majority areas, arrangements were made for “pardanashin” (female staff assigned to verify the identity of women voters wearing burqas). However, the system appears to have failed in Akola.

The Election Department had deployed female staff at Muslim-majority and other sensitive polling stations to verify the identity of women voters behind the veil, ensuring both privacy and prevention of fake or repeat voting. This arrangement was introduced specifically to curb bogus voting. Yet, in Akola, the implementation has reportedly collapsed. Visuals captured by ABP Majha show that burqa-clad women were being allowed inside polling booths without any identity verification. This situation was observed across all polling stations in Ward No 17 of the Bhandpura area, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the Election Commission’s much-publicised system.

Voting began at 7:30 am and will continue until 5:30 pm. Elections are being held for a total of 2,869 seats across the state. As many as 34,879,337 voters are exercising their right to vote today. A total of 39,092 polling stations have been set up, and 15,908 candidates are in the fray.

Voter Turnout Till 11:30 AM:

• Mumbai: 17.58%
• Pune: 10.50%
• Navi Mumbai: 15%
• Kolhapur: 22.45%
• Ichalkaranji: 18.57%
• Pimpri-Chinchwad: 16.03%
• Sambhajinagar: 16–17%
• Nashik: 14.31%
• Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad: 17.20%
• Solapur: 18.08%
• Ahilyanagar: 20.16%
• Jalgaon City: 13.39%
• Dhule: 14.23%
• Nagpur: 12%
• Panvel: 17%
• Malegaon: 20.92%
• Jalna: 20.13%
• Amravati: 17.02%

Strict Action Warned Against Ink Tampering

The State Election Commission has clarified that attempting to create confusion by wiping off the indelible ink applied after voting is a punishable offence. If any individual is found trying to vote again after removing the ink, strict legal action will be taken, the Commission warned.