Maha: 1st phase of local body polls today to see Mahayuti-MVA clash

Mumbai: Maharashtra will witness the first phase of much-awaited local body elections on Tuesday with voting scheduled for 264 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats, a battle taking place amid friendly fights, alliance strain and legal tangles a year after Assembly polls.

Nearly one crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in round one of the multi-tier rural and urban local bodies elections, which as per the Supreme Court, are to be concluded by January 31.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used in the elections spread across different districts and counting will take place on December 3.

The December 2 polls, which will mainly be a fight between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), will decide the fate of 6,705 members and 264 presidents across these local bodies (municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats).

Incidentally, elections to 24 local bodies, earlier slated on December 2, were postponed to December 20 in view of judicial appeals filed against the decisions of Returning Officers following the scrutiny of nomination papers.

The State Election Commission (SEC) decision, announced on Saturday, comes in light of irregularities observed in the election process of some local bodies, including timeline for withdrawal of nominations and allocation of election symbols.

The SEC said, in several cases, the appeal verdicts from the District Court were delivered after November 22, or in some instances, candidates did not get the three-day period to withdraw nomination papers as per Rule 17(1)(b) of Maharashtra Municipalities Election Rules, 1966. As a result, the subsequent action of allocating election symbols on or after November 26 by returning officers was deemed illegal in these cases. The SEC has therefore stayed (postponed) the current election process in such affected civic bodies.

For member seats, the stay applies only to the specific seat for which the appeal was filed. The new programme applies to seats and president’s posts where the appeal verdict was given by the courts on or after November 23, the state poll panel said.

Campaigning will end at 10 pm on Monday, with no poll advertisements being allowed on voting day. Once campaigning ends, political parties and candidates will not be permitted to organise rallies, take out campaign marches, or use loudspeakers and other modes of public canvassing, the SEC has said.