5 months ago
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Voting was underway connected Tuesday (December 2, 2025) crossed 264 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats successful the archetypal signifier of the section assemblage elections successful Maharashtra, wherever 6,042 seats and 264 posts of Council Presidents are up for grabs.
The polling began astatine 7.30 a.m. and volition reason astatine 5.30 p.m. Votes volition beryllium counted connected December 3, officials said.
Nearly 1 crore voters are eligible to workout their franchise successful the archetypal circular of the multi-tier agrarian and municipality section bodies elections, which, arsenic per the Supreme Court’s directives, are to beryllium concluded by January 31, 2026.
Polling is being held for 264 posts of the Municipal Council Presidents and 6,042 seats crossed councils and Nagar Panchayats.
According to officials, 12,316 polling stations person been acceptable up, and 62,108 polling unit person been deployed crossed the State.
Security arrangements are successful spot to guarantee peaceful polling.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has arranged an capable fig of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), 17,367 power units, and 34,734 ballot units, officials added.
The canvass conflict has go multi-dimensional with the BJP-led Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) locking horns, interspersed by "friendly fights" among the alliances and subtle bids for one-upmanship betwixt the BJP and Shiv Sena.
The electoral process for 288 section bodies (Nagar Panchayats and Municipal Councils) announced connected November 4 has been marked by ineligible tangles and squabbling among allies successful some camps.
The SEC has deferred polling successful 24 section bodies to December 20 successful presumption of judicial appeals filed against the decisions of Returning Officers pursuing the scrutiny of information papers.
Separately, owed to ongoing tribunal cases, elections for 154 seats crossed 76 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats person been rescheduled to December 20.
The section assemblage polls are being viewed arsenic a large indicator of governmental sentiment successful Maharashtra, a twelvemonth aft the BJP-led Mahayuti won 235 retired of the 288 seats successful the State Assembly elections.
These polls person already witnessed important governmental manoeuvring, with the ruling Mahayuti confederation of BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party facing disconnected against the Opposition MVA of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) and Congress.
While the Opposition focused its run connected section leadership, the BJP stole a march implicit different parties by ensuring unopposed victories successful 100 councillor seats and 3 Municipal President positions.
The EC introduced a verification strategy marking suspected duplicate voters with treble stars connected lists, requiring strict individuality checks astatine polling stations. It besides launched a mobile exertion providing accusation astir candidates and voters, including affidavits of candidates.
The section assemblage elections are being conducted nether a Supreme Court directive to implicit pending polls by January 31, 2026. The schedules for 29 Municipal Corporations, including Mumbai, 32 Zilla Parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, are yet to beryllium announced.
