BMC elections 2026: Mock voting conducted across booths ahead of polling hours

Mock voting was carried out between 6 am and 7 am across polling stations on Thursday morning ahead of the commencement of polling at 730 amWhat mock voting involvesMock voting is a preparatory process in which control units are connected to ballot units and two test votes are cast on each ballot unit in the presence of polling officials assigned to the respective boothsCRC process explained by election officialsExplaining the procedure an election officer told midday on Thursday morning ldquoWe follow a process known as CRC mdash Close Result and Clear After the ballot unit is attached to the control unit two mock votes are cast The result is then checked on the control unit and subsequently cleared as these are test votes and must not be included in the final vote tallyrdquoThe exercise is conducted to ensure that all Electronic Voting Machines EVMs are functioning properly and that there are no errors in registering votesStrict surveillance during mock voting processAnother official from polling booth number 2 in ward 193 said ldquoOnce the CRC process is completed the control unit is sealed and switched off The entire procedure is carried out under strict surveillance and no citizens are allowed inside the polling station during this time It must be completed by 7 am or at the latest by 715 amrdquoPolling begins after completion of mock votingWhen voting begins at 730 am the control unitmdashalready connected to the ballot unit prior to mock votingmdashis switched on again after which voters are allowed to cast their ballotsResident associations bar political campaigning on WhatsApp groups on voting daySeveral informal and formal residentsrsquo associations including Advanced Locality Managements ALMs operate WhatsApp groups that connect local residents with civic and police authorities to facilitate smoother communication and civic coordinationOn Thursday which marked voting day administrators of many such groups actively discouraged political campaigning to help ldquoensure free and fairrdquo electionsIn one WhatsApp group comprising residents of Mulund and local officials the administrator deleted political messages and issued a clear directive stating ldquoToday no campaign please Messages asking people to vote for any party will be deleted instantlyrdquoSpeaking to midday Chetan Bordawekar a Mulund resident and civic activist said ldquoWe are discouraging the use of our group for political campaigning In principle the group exists for the betterment of the area and to enable citizens to communicate easily with authorities and local leaders We urge citizens to vote but we strongly discourage political campaigning especially on polling dayrdquo