5 months ago
1
Elections to 12 zilla parishads (ZPs) and 125 panchayat samitis successful Maharashtra are apt to beryllium held successful the archetypal week of February, sources said connected Friday (January 2, 2026).
The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) is expected to denote the dates of these elections adjacent week.
On January 6, the SEC volition clasp a gathering of the officials from the districts that are expected to spell to polls successful the 3rd phase.
The canvass assemblage volition instrumentality banal of the preparations, availability of the physics voting machines (EVMs) and canvass machinery for the 3rd signifier during the reappraisal meeting. After that, the determination connected the predetermination day is expected to beryllium taken earlier the polls are announced successful the 2nd week of January.
The SEC has to implicit the predetermination process for the polls good up of February 10, the day of the commencement of Class 12 exams.
"We volition request astir 28 days to implicit the canvass process. We are expecting the proviso of the caller EVMs from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) to statesman aft January 15. Once the manpower is freed from the municipal corporations, we tin prosecute them successful the territory assembly elections," an SEC authoritative said.
"We request astatine slightest 70,000 EVMs for 35,000 polling booths and implicit 1.5 lakh officials and employees to behaviour the polls. Since we are not capable to denote the polls for the 3rd signifier earlier January 8, elections to territory councils and panchayat samitis are expected to beryllium held successful the archetypal week of February. This volition effect successful the breaching of the SC deadline of January 31, but we volition enactment up our difficulties earlier it during the adjacent proceeding connected January 21," an authoritative from the SEC said.
The SC, successful its orders successful November and December, directed the SEC to clasp elections for municipal corporations, nagar panchayats and municipal councils adjacent if they person been exceeding the headdress of 50 per cent reservation. The apex tribunal has, however, allowed lone 12 ZPs and 125 panchayat samitis to spell to the polls barring bodies that person exceeded the preservation limit.
The archetypal signifier of elections to 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats were held connected December 2, portion polls to 24 different municipal councils and nagar panchayats were rescheduled to December 20.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations successful the authorities volition beryllium held January 15.
