The first-ever election for hawker representatives on the Town Vending Committee (TVC) took place on Thursday, but voters faced long waits of two to three hours. Each voter had to choose at least 13 out of over 60 candidates, extending the process beyond general elections. Out of 32,415 eligible hawkers, only a 49 per cent voted, with many participating to avoid losing their licences. The Supreme Court has postponed the announcement of results until further notice.

The BMC set up multiple centres with three to seven booths each per ward. Voting began at 7 am, but by afternoon, only a few ballots had been cast. Many voters were frustrated. Ramchandra Gupta, who sells idli-vada near CST, said, “I voted early, but most candidates were unknown to me. The election was announced just two weeks ago, so candidates might not have had time to reach us.”