Nagpur: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) not to hold the counting of votes for the first phase of local body polls on December 3, on the ground that the “disclosure of public mood” through the results might affect the subsequent phase of the elections.
The results of Tuesday’s elections should be published along with the results of the December 20 elections, the HC said. In a subsequent statement, the SEC said the counting of votes for elections to all the 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra will begin at 10 AM on December 21.
Polling is being held for 264 posts of the municipal council presidents and 6,042 seats across councils and nagar panchayats.
According to officials, 12,316 polling stations have been set up, and 62,108 polling personnel have been deployed across the state.
Security arrangements are in place to ensure peaceful polling.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has arranged an adequate number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), 17,367 control units, and 34,734 ballot units, officials added.
The poll battle has become 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 between the BJP and Shiv Sena.
The electoral process for 288 local bodies (nagar panchayats and municipal councils) announced on November 4 has been marked by legal tangles and squabbling among allies in both camps.
The SEC has deferred polling in 24 local bodies to December 20 in view of judicial appeals filed against the decisions of Returning Officers following the scrutiny of nomination papers.
Separately, due to ongoing court cases, elections for 154 seats across 76 municipal councils and nagar panchayats have been rescheduled to December 20.
The local body polls are being viewed as a major indicator of political sentiment in Maharashtra, a year after the BJP-led Mahayuti won 235 out of the 288 seats in the state assembly elections.
These polls have already witnessed significant political manoeuvring, with the ruling Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party facing off against the Opposition MVA of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP), and Congress.
While the Opposition focused its campaign on local leadership, the BJP stole a march over other parties by ensuring unopposed victories in 100 councillor seats and three municipal president positions.
The EC introduced a verification system marking suspected duplicate voters with double stars on lists, requiring strict identity checks at polling stations. It also launched a mobile application providing information about candidates and voters, including affidavits of candidates.
The local body elections are being conducted under a Supreme Court directive to complete pending polls by January 31, 2026. The schedules for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, 32 Zilla Parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, are yet to be announced.
