Maharashtra local body polls begin across 264 municipal councils, nagar panchayats

Voting began on Tuesday morning across 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra as the first phase of the state’s local body elections got underway. Polling opened at 7.30am and will continue until 5.30pm, with counting scheduled for 3 December, officials said.

Nearly one crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this round of the multi-tier rural and urban elections, which the Supreme Court has directed must be completed by 31 January 2026. A total of 6,042 seats and 264 municipal council president posts are in contention in this phase.

According to the State Election Commission (SEC), 12,316 polling stations have been set up and more than 62,000 polling personnel deployed across the state. Security arrangements have also been strengthened to ensure a peaceful voting process. The SEC has arranged 17,367 control units and 34,734 ballot units for use with Electronic Voting Machines.

The political contest has become sharply multi-polar, with the BJP-led Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) facing off, while internal “friendly fights” and subtle jostling for dominance, particularly between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, add further layers of complexity.

The electoral process for 288 local bodies, announced on 4 November, has been marred by legal disputes and disagreements within both alliances. The SEC has postponed polling in 24 local bodies to 20 December due to judicial appeals arising from the scrutiny of nomination papers.

Separately, elections for 154 seats across 76 municipal councils and nagar panchayats have also been shifted to the same date because of ongoing court cases.

These elections are being widely watched as an important gauge of political sentiment in Maharashtra, coming a year after the BJP-led Mahayuti secured 235 of the 288 seats in the state assembly elections.

Campaigning has seen vigorous manoeuvring on both sides, with the MVA leaning on local leadership while the BJP has gained an edge through unopposed wins in 100 councillor seats and three municipal president posts.

In a bid to enhance transparency, the EC has introduced a verification system flagging suspected duplicate voters with double stars, requiring strict identity checks at polling stations. A new mobile application has also been launched, offering voters access to information about candidates, including their affidavits.

While voting proceeds in the first phase, the schedules for polls to 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, as well as 32 Zilla Parishads and 336 panchayat samitis are still awaited, in line with the Supreme Court’s directive to complete all pending local body elections by early 2026.

With PTI inputs