Voting is being held today on Tuesday for the first phase of elections for local self-government bodies in Maharashtra. In this phase, voting will be held in 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats. Strict security arrangements have been made for voting. To gain power in these institutions of small towns of the state, the ruling Mahayuti campaigned vigorously and at high decibel level, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) remained very low profile and the three constituent parties kept their campaigning very limited.
The main contest in the elections is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Mahayuti alliance and the opposition alliance MVA. This election will decide the fate of 6,042 members and 264 chairpersons of local bodies (Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat). Voting will start from 7.30 am and will continue till 5.30 pm. 12,316 centers have been set up for voting.
Use of EVM in civic elections
About one crore voters in the state will be able to cast their votes in the first phase of this multi-level election for rural and urban local bodies. According to the order of the Supreme Court, the election process in Maharashtra is to be completed by January 31. Electronic voting machines are being used in the elections to be held in different districts and the counting will take place tomorrow on 3rd December.
Voting will not be possible for 24 city councils and nagar panchayats today. The elections for these bodies have been postponed till December 20 due to judicial appeals filed against the decisions of the election officials after scrutiny of nomination papers.
Unopposed victory of many candidates
Similarly, out of 264 civic bodies, voting will not be possible on 154 seats of 76 Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats due to legal reasons. Voting on these seats will be held on December 20. Following the order of the Supreme Court, the State Election Commission had announced on November 4 last month to hold elections in 246 Municipal Councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats on December 2.
Bharatiya Janata Party has won unopposed for 100 members and 3 president posts. These civic elections are being conducted under the instructions of the Supreme Court, and are to be completed by January 31, 2026. The election schedules of 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils and 336 panchayat committees have not been announced yet.
Earlier in the assembly elections held in November last year, the BJP-led Mahayuti had won 235 out of 288 seats and returned to power. Political observers say that the local body election results will tell how the performance of the Mahayuti government was in the state in the last year.
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