Maharashtra civic polls: 4-member panel system confuses electors; new voters most affected

THANE/KALYAN/NAVI MUMBAI/ULHASNAGAR: The MMR voters faced confusion while exercising their franchise on Thursday due to a four-member panel system introduced in the municipal corporation elections, barring Mumbai, this time, in place of the previous single-member ward system.

Each panel consisted of four wards, requiring voters to vote individually for all four candidates rather than selecting just one.During campaigning, the Election Commission and political parties made efforts to inform voters that they needed to vote for four candidates within their panel. The Election Commission displayed pictorial guides outside polling stations that explained the new voting process. While many voters understood this change, confusion was still evident at several polling booths.

Due to glitches, some voters failed to press all four buttons, and they were also confused about whom to vote for.In Navi Mumbai, confusion arose over the multi-panel system in the Yashwantrao Chavan Chowk area of Ward 12B after the button of independent candidate Vaishali Walunjkar reportedly created problems at the polling station. “The issue led to frustration among many voters,” said Walunjkar. What should have been a routine vote turned into an awkward, almost comical moment for activist B N Kumar on polling day at the NMMC-run CBSE School, Kopar Khairane.

“I played tabla on the voting machine,” Kumar said, recalling his experience inside the booth. “The button on the pink panel simply did not work.” Kumar said a polling official initially reminded him that the fourth button was faulty.In Thane, the use of the multi-panel system for electing corporators after nearly nine years caused confusion and minor delays at several polling booths across the city, particularly among the elderly and first-time voters. Polling centres in Owale, Kokanipada, Kalwa, Rabodi and parts of the city saw election officials repeatedly explaining the process to voters, like Gangu Garje from Ghodbunder, who initially believed they needed to press only one button and were unaware that selections were required across multiple panels. Voters also sought clarification on whether the same party choice or NOTA option had to be selected on each panel.

Officials said the unfamiliar format impacted the voting process, with some voters taking over a minute to scan candidate lists, a process that usually takes only seconds. A zonal officer from Ghodbunder confirmed that senior citizens and those unaware of the system contributed to brief delays, but that the impact was ‘absorbed’ due to a lower voter load per booth.Complexities were witnessed in the implementation of the panel system in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls.

Some voters were confused while casting their votes. At a few polling stations, voters hesitated when they did not hear the confirmation “beep” sound after pressing the button on the electronic voting machines. In such cases, poll officials guided them to vote separately for each of the four candidates listed on different EVMs under the panel system.In Ulhasnagar, the panel system was not entirely new to voters, as a similar voting method was used in 2017. As a result, a comparatively higher level of awareness was observed among voters there. Many residents appeared familiar with the process and were seen voting with confidence.