Maharashtra local body elections: EVM glitches disrupt municipal council voting

Voting for the municipal council elections in Maharashtra faced major disruptions as Electronic Voting Machines EVMs reportedly malfunctioned at several polling centres across the stateIn many locations buttons for independent candidates were unresponsive causing delays and confusion among voters Observers noted administrative lapses at multiple polling stations with machines reportedly failing right at the start of votingTensions escalated at Ward No 2 polling station in Raigarhrsquos Mahasamund Municipality where the main contest is between Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar Rashtrawadi Party Supporters of Jagatap and Gogawale clashed after nonfunctional voting machines left voters stranded further heightening the chaos at the siteRaigarh Maharashtra In Raigarhrsquos Mahasamund Municipality where the main contest is between Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar Rashtrawadi Party a clash erupted today between Jagatap and Gogawale supporters at Ward No 2 polling station as voters were stranded due to nonfunctionalhellip pictwittercomU72RPoXT2gmdash IANS ians_india December 2 2025794 pc turnout till 930 am in Maharashtra local polls 2 bogus voters caught claims CongAn estimated 794 per cent of voters cast their ballots in the first two hours of polling on Tuesday for elections to 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra officials saidIn Buldhana two suspected bogus voters were caught at a polling station barely an hour and a half after voting began according to the Maharashtra Congress The party also alleged that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was bringing in people to cast fake votes in the Buldhana Municipal Council elections Authorities have not immediately responded to the claimsPolling began at 730 am and is scheduled to conclude at 530 pm election officials said By 930 am 794 per cent of eligible voters had exercised their franchiseA man allegedly attempted to cast a vote in the name of local resident Vaibhav Deshmukh at the Gandhi Primary School polling centre in ward no 15 of Buldhana The individual is said to be a resident of Kothali in Motala taluka the Congress alleged in a statementAnother person accompanying him was also detained while Congress functionaries claimed that more individuals from Kothali and Ibrahimpur had been brought to Buldhana city with the intention of casting fraudulent votesThe Opposition party alleged that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was bringing people from rural areas to cast bogus votes in the Buldhana Municipal Council electionsSome suspected bogus voters were apprehended by Congress members and handed over to the police However the MLAs son Kunal Gaikwad arrived at the spot and verbally abused the police personnel before allegedly helping one of the detained individuals escape it chargedThe Congress demanded Kunal Gaikwads arrest and that a case be registered against him for his alleged involvement in facilitating bogus voting and obstructing government workThe party urged the police administration to take cognisance of the matter and initiate appropriate actionState Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal criticised the administration for not taking any action We have lodged a complaint but nothing is being done he told reportersThere was no immediate response from the police or the Gaikwad family on the allegationsVoting was underway on Tuesday across 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the first phase of the local body elections in Maharashtra where 6042 seats and 264 posts of council presidents are up for grabsNearly one crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the first round of the multitier rural and urban local bodies elections which as per the Supreme Courts directives are to be concluded by January 31 2026The poll battle has become multidimensional with the BJPled Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA locking horns interspersed by friendly fights among the alliances and subtle bids for oneupmanship between the BJP and Shiv SenaThe local body polls are being viewed as a major indicator of political sentiment in Maharashtra a year after the BJPled Mahayuti won 235 out of the 288 seats in the state assembly electionsThese polls have already witnessed significant political manoeuvring with the ruling Mahayuti alliance of BJP Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawars Nationalist Congress Party facing off against the Opposition MVA of the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT Sharad Pawars NCP SP and CongressThe EC has introduced a verification system marking suspected duplicate voters with double stars on lists requiring strict identity checks at polling stations It also launched a mobile application providing information about candidates and voters including affidavits of candidatesVotes will be counted on Wednesday