Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 (ANI): As polling begins across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, real estate businessman Abhishek Lodha, son of Maharashtra Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, cast his vote and urged citizens to participate actively, saying the civic polls have a direct impact on daily life.

Polling began today at 7.30 am and will continue until 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.

Speaking to ANI, Abhishek Lodha said, 'Voting is very important for everyone. The BMC elections have a significant impact on our daily lives. We request all citizens to come out in large numbers and cast their votes.'

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections began slowly on Thursday, with only 7.12 per cent voter turnout as of 9:30 AM. However, these early trends indicate that almost twice as many male voters are casting their votes as women.

The highest voter turnout was recorded in Ward number 18 in Mumbai city at 11.57 per cent. Whereas, ward no 162 recorded the lowest turnout at 1.68 per cent.

A total of 7,36,996 voters have cast their votes out of a total of 1,03,44,315. According to official data released by the State Election Commission (SEC), nearly twice as many men as women have cast their votes. 4,54,539 men have cast their vote in BMC elections, compared to 2,82,433 women.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to fight independently in most corporations.

In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both NCP factions have come together under a joint manifesto.

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 polls, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of Marathi Manus in a high-stakes fight for control of the BMC, the country's richest civic body.

The last BMC elections were held in 2017.

Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. The elections are taking place after an intense campaign and are seen as crucial for major cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad. (ANI)