Maharashtra Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti Election Results 2026 vote counting begins: Vote counting for the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections has begun, and the results are expected later in the day. Polling for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis across the state ended on Saturday, February 7, with around 67 per cent voter turnout recorded till 5:30 pm.
The elections were held in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur districts. A total of 2.09 crore voters were eligible to take part in the polls, including 1.07 crore men and 1.02 crore women.
Poll dates changed after mourning period
Earlier, the state government had announced a mourning period from January 28 to January 30 following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash. Due to this, the Maharashtra State Election Commission postponed the elections from February 5 to February 7.
Along with rescheduling the voting date, the Election Commission also deferred the counting process, which is now being held between February 7 and February 9.
Candidates and seat reservation details
In total, 2,624 candidates are contesting for 731 Zilla Parishad seats. Of these, 369 seats are reserved for women, 83 for Scheduled Castes, 25 for Scheduled Tribes and 191 for Other Backward Classes. For the Panchayat Samiti elections, 4,814 candidates are in the fray for 1,462 seats, with 731 reserved for women, 166 for Scheduled Castes, 38 for Scheduled Tribes and 342 for Other Backward Classes.
Peaceful voting sees minor clashes
Polling on Saturday remained largely peaceful, though a few complaints were reported over alleged bogus voting and “errors” in EVMs. Tension briefly flared in the Wadgaon Haveli area of Karad taluka in Satara district after BJP and NCP workers exchanged heated words over claims of bogus voting. Police stepped in promptly and brought the situation under control at the polling station.
Similar incidents of confrontation were reported from Parbhani district. In Dharashiv district, controversy erupted after an alleged audio clip of a former Shiv Sena minister, purportedly discussing the distribution of money among voters, went viral.
Meanwhile, in Balgavde village of Sangli district, around 2,200 voters boycotted the polling process to protest the cutting of nearly 15,000 trees for a solar energy project.