Maharashtra Local Body Polls Phase I Today As 242 Municipal Councils, 46 Nagar Panchayats To Vote |
Maharashtra will witness the first phase of local body elections on Tuesday, with voting scheduled for 242 municipal councils and 46 nagar panchayats, marking the beginning of a three-tier process mandated by the Supreme Court.
Polls Held After 5–6 Years Amid OBC Quota Litigation
Local body elections are taking place after a gap of nearly five to six years due to prolonged litigation over the OBC quota.
Phase I is being conducted as per Supreme Court directions to complete the full election process by January 31 next year. Phase II will cover zilla parishads and panchayat samitis, followed by a final phase for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai.
Some Polls Deferred Due to Legal Challenges
Elections to certain local bodies in Ahilyanagar, Pune and Thane districts were postponed to December 20 owing to judicial appeals filed against Returning Officers’ decisions during the scrutiny of nomination papers.
The State Election Commission (SEC) stated that procedural irregularities and disputes over symbol allotment prompted the postponement reasons challenged by both the BJP and Congress.
Monitoring Squads Deployed to Curb Cash-for-Votes
To prevent illicit cash distribution, the SEC has deployed special monitoring squads in all districts, SEC Secretary Suresh Kakani told GPlus.
Each squad includes an Election Commission representative, an Income Tax officer, and police personnel. They will maintain checkpoints and patrol sensitive areas, conducting random inspections of bags and suspicious vehicles to deter voter inducement.
Kakani also said district collectors have been directed to set up toll-free helplines for citizens to report incidents of money being offered for votes.
Mahayuti Faces Internal Clashes; Raids Conducted
The campaign saw unexpected verbal clashes within the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Senior leaders urged voters to back the coalition to ensure uninterrupted state funding for urban development.
In Sindhudurg and Solapur, the Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena drew police scrutiny, with MLA Nilesh Rane and former MLA Shahaji Patil coming under the scanner.
Police raided Shahaji Patil’s office in Sangola, and in a separate incident, currency notes worth ₹1 crore were seized in Hingoli late Monday evening.
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Massive Campaign Push by Ruling Leaders
A key highlight was the aggressive outreach by top Mahayuti leaders
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (37+ rallies)
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde (56 rallies)
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
Opposition Campaign Led by Congress State Leadership
On the opposition front, fewer big names participated. The Congress campaign was led by MPCC chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, who held 63 rallies, followed by
Vijay Wadettiwar (30+)
Satej Patil (20)
Yashomati Thakur (15)
Counting on December 3
Counting of votes will take place on December 3, deciding 6,859 members and 288 presidents of municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
A total of 1.07 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots.
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