Administration fully prepared for peaceful elections: TMC chief

With the Thane Municipal Corporation TMC general elections for 2025ndash26 scheduled on January 15 2026 the civic administration has completed all preparations to ensure a smooth and peaceful polling process Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao said on WednesdayAddressing a press conference Rao appealed to citizens to actively participate in the electoral process describing elections as a ldquofestival of democracyrdquo and urging voters to exercise their franchise in large numbersThe press conference was held at the Late Narendra Ballal Hall at the TMC headquarters and was attended by Additional Commissioner1 Sandeep Malvi Additional Commissioner2 Prashant Rode Deputy Commissioner Elections Umesh Birari along with senior officials GG Godepure Mitali Sancheti Deepak Zinjade and othersElection schedule announcedCommissioner Rao outlined the election programme stating that nomination forms will be distributed and accepted from December 23 to December 29 2025 excluding public holidays between 11 am and 3 pm and on December 30 between 11 am and 2 pmScrutiny of nominations will be completed on December 31 following which the list of valid candidates will be published The last date for withdrawal of nominations is January 2 2026 while election symbols will be allotted on January 3 The final list of contesting candidates will also be published on the same dayPolling will be held on January 15 2026 counting of votes will take place on January 16 and the names of elected corporators will be published in the government gazette on January 19 Rao saidWards and electorate detailsThe Thane Municipal Corporation comprises 33 wards As per the 2011 Census the cityrsquos population stands at 1841488 Ward No 25 has the highest population at 62697 while Ward No 29 has the lowest population at 38172The total number of registered voters is 1649867 including 863878 male voters 785830 female voters and 159 voters under the lsquootherrsquo categoryElection staff deployment and trainingFor the conduct of elections 11 Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers Levels 1 2 and 3 have been appointed across nine ward committees A total of 2013 polling stations have been set up across the cityrsquos 33 wardsEach polling station will be staffed with a presiding officer three polling officers and a peon Including a 20 per cent reserve workforce orders are being issued for the deployment of 12650 officers and employeesThe first phase of training for polling staff will be conducted on December 27 28 and 29 at Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan and Dr Kashinath Ghanekar Natyagruha The second phase of training will be organised at the returning officer levelInfrastructure and logistics in placeRao said that 120 vehicles have been made available for electionrelated work Facilities including CCTV surveillance and webcasting uninterrupted power supply 7500 Electronic Voting Machines BU and CU internet connectivity computer systems refreshments for staff voter awareness initiatives and printing of ballotrelated stationery have been ensured with adequate manpowerSinglewindow system for permissionsA singlewindow system has been implemented to facilitate electionrelated permissions A total of 10 counters have been set upmdashone at each of the nine ward committee offices and one at the Civic Facility Centre at the municipal headquartersThrough this system candidates and political parties can seek permissions during the Model Code of Conduct period for public meetings campaigning use of grounds loudspeakers rallies banners and hoardings opening of party offices as well as obtain certificates such as nodues certificates toilet usage certificates noncontractor certificates voter list extracts and noobjection certificates from the Fire Department police stations and traffic departmentPolitical parties briefedA meeting of political parties was held on December 20 at the municipal headquarters during which detailed information on the election process was shared and queries raised by party representatives were addressed Rao saidAction against Model Code violationsSince the Model Code of Conduct came into force the TMCrsquos encroachment department has removed 3778 unauthorised posters across the city Additionally foundation stones of development projects bearing the names of public representatives have been covered as mandatedPolling station facilities and security arrangementsEach ward will have one model polling station totalling 33 across the city Womenonly lsquoSakhirsquo polling stations will also be set up in every ward Facilities such as wheelchairs and ramps will be provided at polling stations to assist differentlyabled votersFor security around 5500 police personnel will be deployed zonewise Police presence will be ensured at all polling stations sensitive polling booths and within a 200metre radius of polling centresEach revenue sector will have one police personnel while each police sector will include one officer four constables and a police vehicle Sensitive locations will be guarded by SRPF or State Reserve Police Force units along with Home Guards Police Mitra NSS and NCC volunteersPolice personnel will also be deployed for all SST and FST teams at zonelevel checknakas and at strong rooms where one officer and two personnel will be posted in shifts to ensure roundtheclock security Commissioner Saurabh Rao added