After a gap of five years, Maharashtra will conduct local body elections on December 2, marking the first major statewide electoral exercise since the Mahayuti alliance’s sweep in last year’s Assembly polls. The elections will cover 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar parishads across the state.
The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in all areas where elections are to be held, restricting the government from taking any new policy decisions affecting these regions until the results are declared.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of strong Opposition protests alleging irregularities in the July 1 voter list being used for the polls. Opposition parties have demanded that the elections be postponed until the voter list is revised.
“There will be no injustice towards any voter or political party. We have to complete the polls by January 31, 2026, as per the Supreme Court’s directive,” said State Election Commissioner Vijay Waghmare. He clarified that the State Election Commission (SEC) has no authority to add or delete names from the voter list, a responsibility that lies with the Chief Electoral Office of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Waghmare added that the SEC had used specialized software to identify duplicate names, which were marked with double asterisks on the voter rolls. Local authorities will now verify these entries to confirm whether they belong to the same person. In cases where duplication is confirmed, voters must submit an undertaking specifying from which ward they wish to vote, after which they will be barred from voting in any other ward.
Earlier, the SEC had sought permission from the ECI to use a supplementary voter list allowing updates until October 15, but no response was received. When asked whether the SEC might use the updated list for later phases, Waghmare said, “If we receive the October 15 list, we can consider it.”
He also clarified that VVPAT machines will not be used in the local body elections, as they are designed for single-member wards, whereas these polls involve multi-member and multi-post wards.
Candidates contesting from reserved seats must submit their caste validity certificates within six months of winning, failing which their seats will be forfeited.
To aid voters, the SEC has launched a mobile app and a dedicated website — http://mahasecvoterlist.in — where citizens can check their names on the voter list. Mobile phones will be permitted outside polling stations but must be deposited before entering the booth, subject to the presiding officer’s discretion.
