The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday appointed senior leader and Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule as the party’s in-charge for the upcoming local body elections, which are being held in the state after six years.
The announcement was made by State BJP president Ravindra Chavan during a strategy meeting attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior party leaders.
Speaking at the meeting, Bawankule expressed confidence that the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, would secure over 51% of the votes and win a two-thirds majority across Maharashtra.
“We will ensure the Mahayuti wins all elections in Maharashtra — from municipal corporations to zilla parishads, councils, and nagar panchayats — with an overwhelming majority,” Bawankule said.
CM Devendra Fadnavis urged district in-charges to focus on coordination within the Mahayuti and avoid public criticism of partner parties. To strengthen cooperation at the grassroots level, Bawankule announced that a three-member coordination committee—comprising one minister each from the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP—will be formed in every district. “We will ensure there are no disputes or differences among Mahayuti partners,” he added.
According to the State Election Commission, polls for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will be held on December 2, with vote counting on December 3. The elections, to be conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), will decide 6,859 members and 288 council presidents.
A total of 1.7 crore voters — including 53.8 lakh men, 53.2 lakh women, and 775 others — are eligible to cast their votes across 13,355 polling stations in 3,820 wards. Of the total seats, 3,492 are reserved for women, 895 for Scheduled Castes, 338 for Scheduled Tribes, and 1,821 for OBCs.
The December polls are being closely watched as the first major test of strength for the Mahayuti government after the Assembly elections, with all three alliance partners keen to assert dominance in their respective bastions.
