BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani (in pic) was appointed as District Election Officer.

MUMBAI: Voter turnout in Mumbai for the Maharashtra assembly elections on November 20 will be under close scrutiny, considering an administrative change that was brought in for preparing for this election. For the first time, the Election Commission of India appointed the BMC municipal commissioner as the district election officer for both districts in the city.
In addition, all four additional municipal commissioners of the BMC, alongside the district collectors of Mumbai Suburban and Mumbai City, were designated as Additional District Election Officers.
This new structure has seven senior IAS officers overseeing the election process in Mumbai. Previously, the District Collectors of Mumbai Suburban and Mumbai City independently handled the role of District Election Officer.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Mumbai recorded a voter turnout of 52.4%, a decline from the 55.4% turnout in 2019. This assembly election will test whether the new setup impacts voter participation.
Officials said that the primary reason for this change is that the Mumbai civic body has the experience of working for providing civic services and facilities. Both the Mumbai Suburban District and the Mumbai City District fall within the BMC’s jurisdiction. Unlike the BMC, the district administrations lack the extensive infrastructure and manpower needed across all parts of Mumbai.
“Therefore, the Election Commission of India has handed over the responsibility of election operations to the BMC, with both district administrations appointed to support it. As a result, compared to previous elections, a larger and more responsive administrative team is now available to serve voters in the Maharashtra Assembly General Elections 2024,” said an official involved in the process.
As per the directives of the ECI, this year, each polling station in Mumbai will be equipped with assured minimum facilities (AMF) for voters.
These facilities will include drinking water, designated seating arrangements for persons in queues, waiting rooms, fans, adequate light, drinking water arrangements in queues, clean toilets, trash bins, wheelchairs, and ramps for PwD (persons with disabilities) voters, and more. In case of tents set up in open areas, the strength and quality will be ensured. To assist with crowd management at polling stations, volunteers are being appointed. Volunteers will be sourced from organisations like the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC). If there are multiple polling stations in the same vicinity, a colour-coding system will be used to avoid confusion, ensuring voters know exactly which centre to go to.
In the Mumbai Suburban District, there are 17,540 PwD voters, while in the Mumbai City District, there are 6,387, bringing the total number of PwD voters to 23,927. To ensure that all of these voters can vote with ease and without any inconvenience, special arrangements have been made under the directives of the ECI.
Further, to increase voter turnout, several campaigns are being organised. One such prominent campaign is “Know Your Polling Station,” aimed at raising awareness about polling stations. Under this campaign, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have visited voters’ homes to inform them about any changes in polling station locations. Additionally, a letter with a QR code providing polling station details has been distributed to each voter. Political party leaders have also been urged to spread awareness about changes in polling stations among citizens.