‘Vote Chori is an anti-national act’: Rahul Gandhi amid BMC vote counting

NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing counting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that there is erosion of public trust in the electoral process. He shared an article from a publication that highlighted voter concerns about fading indelible ink.

In a post on X, the Congress leader said, “Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act.”

Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy.

Vote Chori is an anti-national act. pic.twitter.com/3FZKkDPwDg

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 16, 2026

Meanwhile, early leads being reported from vote counting of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections show the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena Mahayuti alliance leading in around 52 wards, according to preliminary data that is coming in from the counting of postal ballots.

The official figures from the SEC and the BMC are awaited. According to the postal ballots counted till now, the BJP has a lead in 35 seats, Shiv Sena has 17 seats.

For the Thackeray brothers, the morning is yet to bring good news as the Shiv Sena (UBT) is reported to be leading in 22 seats. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, is leading in 8 seats till now. The Congress has 4 leads from the initial count.

#WATCH | Mumbai | Counting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls begins. Visuals from Worli counting centre. pic.twitter.com/IkGQ9DeQCc

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2026

The recently concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recorded a voter turnout of 52.94 per cent, according to the data released by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) on Friday.

The elections for India’s richest municipal corporations, which concluded on Thursday, were marred by allegations by the Shiv Sena (UBT)- MNS alliance, and subsequently refuted by the SEC.

The elections, which were conducted after a gap of eight years, marked a significant civic exercise for Mumbai. The previous BMC elections were held in 2017, while the term of the last elected mayor, Kishori Pednekar, ended in March 2022. With the completion of the polls, Mumbai is set to get a new mayor after nearly four years.

Out of the total 1,03,44,315 voters in the electoral roll, a total of 54,76,043 exercised their right to vote. In total numbers of voters, around 3.7 lakh men exercised their franchise compared to women. A total of 29,23,433 men voted across the 277 wards, 25,52,359 women, and 251 transgender electors also cast their votes.

The exit polls have predicted a victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, with the Thackeray brothers finishing second and Congress and its allies failing to put up a strong show.

In the 2017 elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had secured 84 seats out of the total 227. While being in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party at that point, the alliance had secured the halfway mark of 114 seats, with the BJP winning 82 seats. (ANI)