The Maharashtra State Election Commission has finally announced the schedule for municipal council and nagar panchayat elections across the state.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said at a press conference in Mumbai that voting for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will take place on December 2, and counting will be held on December 3.
Big city polls likely in January
Meanwhile, the election dates for big municipal corporations in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Thane are yet to be declared. The remaining two phases for district councils and municipal corporations are likely to be held in the last week of December and the third week of January, respectively, according to multiple media reports.
Waghmare also said that elections for 29 municipal corporations, 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis will be announced later.
Polling will be done through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to elect 6,859 members and 288 presidents. Some of the nagar parishads and panchayats around Mumbai going to polls in the first phase include Uran, Roha, Karjat, Alibag, Pen, Ambernath, Matheran, Dahanu, Palghar, and Chiplun.
The State Election Commission has also launched two websites – https://mahasecelec.in for submitting nomination forms and affidavits online and https://mahasecvoterlist.in for voters to check their names and polling stations.
1.7 crore eligible voters across the state
With the poll dates announced, the model code of conduct is now in effect in all areas where elections will be held. A total of 1.7 crore voters are eligible to vote – 53.8 lakh men, 53.2 lakh women and 775 others. There will be 13,355 polling stations across 3,820 wards. Of the 6,859 member seats, 3,492 are reserved for women, 895 for Scheduled Castes, 338 for Scheduled Tribes, and 1,821 for OBCs.
The elections come after a long delay – many civic bodies’ terms ended more than three years ago, but polls were postponed due to the Covid pandemic and court cases related to OBC quotas and ward numbers. This will be the first major statewide election since last year’s Assembly polls. The announcement also follows protests by the Opposition, which has claimed irregularities in the voter list published on July 1 and demanded that the elections be postponed.
