Amid the ongoing protests by the MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) and other Opposition parties over the discrepancies in the voters’ lists, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday went ahead and announced the schedule for the Maharashtra local body elections — under which 246 Nagar Parishads and 42 Nagar Panchayats across the state will go to polls on December 2.
However, the SEC did not announce the schedule for the elections to 29 municipal corporations – including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the ones at Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik and Navi Mumbai -- 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis across the state. It may announce the poll schedule for the polls to the municipal corporation, ZP and Panchayat samitis at a later date.
As per the schedule for the local body polls announced by the SEC, nominations will begin on November 10 and end on November 17, while the scrutiny of nominations will take place on November 18 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is on November 25. The polling will take place between 7.30 am and 5.30 pm on December 2 and the counting will take place on the following day (December 3).
In the crucial polls, the ruling Mahayuti – comprising the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP – will take on the Opposition MVA – comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar) – and smaller parties like the MNS, PWP, PWP and Samajwadi Party in the polls.
In all, 1.07,3, 576 voters across the state are eligible to exercise their rights in the Nagar Parishads and Nagar Panchayats polls.
Announcing the schedule for local body polls, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said, “Voting will be held to elect 6,859 members and 288 presidents in these local self-government bodies. The number of eligible voters in these elections is 1.07 crore voters. In all, there will be 13,355 polling stations”.
The polling will be held using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The election symbols and the list of candidates will be published on November 26. “The cut-off date of the electoral rolls is July 1, 2025. We have asked for the voter roll till October 15 from the ECI, and if we get the list, we will consider extending the cut-off date,” the State Election Commissioner said.
The Panchayati Raj in Maharashtra is a three-tier system of rural local governance consisting of the Gram Panchayat at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and the Zilla Parishad at the district level. A nagar parishad or municipal council administers the smaller urban areas.
They are responsible for local governance and urban development. A nagar panchayat is a form of urban local governance for areas with a population between 12,000 and 40,000.
Waghmare said that the SEC had introduced specific provisions to deal with the issue of duplicate voters, who are registered in multiple places. “Such voters will be marked with a double star on the voters’ list. They will be strictly allowed to vote at only one place. SEC personnel will be deployed to contact these voters to ascertain their preference,” the State Election Commissioner said.
“When a voter arrives at the polling station, a double star mark will be displayed for certain entries, informing polling officials to verify the identity of the voter. Such voters will be required to sign a declaration to confirm that they are not voting elsewhere,” Waghmare said.
According to the SEC, the expenditure limit for candidates will be 15 lakh rupees for the President’s post and Rs 12 lakh each for the members’ posts. Queried about the demands made by the opposition parties that met him on the discrepancies in the voters’ lists, Waghmare said that the SEC receives the list from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
However, Waghmare said that the SEC was actively taking action to rectify errors like duplicate entries and clerical mistakes. “We will ensure an accurate final voters list,” he added.
