Maharashtra Local Body Elections Underway Across 264 Councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats, Counting Tomorrow
First phase of polls begins under Supreme Court directive, counting scheduled for tomorrow
Maharashtra, Dec 02 : Voting began across Maharashtra on Tuesday as the state entered the first phase of its long delayed local body elections. Polling is underway for 264 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats, with counting scheduled for Wednesday.
The elections are being held under a Supreme Court directive mandating Maharashtra to complete all pending local body polls by 31 January 2026, emphasizing the importance of “elected representatives, rather than bureaucrats, running grassroots democratic institutions.”
Who’s Contesting and What’s at Stake
The main contest is between the ruling Mahayuti coalition comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). Regional players such as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) are also contesting, with some forming alliances with larger coalitions. Communist parties are fielding candidates in select areas.
Polling officials have been instructed to conduct strict identity verification to prevent duplicate voting, with suspected duplicate entries marked with “double stars” on the rolls. The elections are being held after the Supreme Court approved 27% OBC reservation, ensuring total reservations do not exceed 50% in any local body.
To aid voters, the State Election Commission (SEC) has launched a mobile app providing details of candidates and their affidavits.
This first phase sets the stage for larger civic polls, including 29 municipal corporations, among them the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), likely to vote around mid-January, along with elections for 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis.
