Mahayuti and MVA set for major face-off as local body polls begin on Dec 2

Maharashtra will go to the polls on Tuesday for the first phase of its longawaited local body elections with voting scheduled for 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayatsThe contest comes against the backdrop of alliance tensions friendly fights and legal challenges a year after the state assembly electionsNearly one crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the opening phase of these multitier rural and urban elections which must be completed by January 31 as directed by the Supreme CourtThe Electronic Voting Machines EVMs will be used across districts and counting is set for December 3The December 2 polls will see a direct clash between the ruling BJPled Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA deciding the fate of 6705 members and 264 municipal presidentsElections in 24 local bodies were postponed to December 20 due to legal appeals filed against the scrutiny of nomination papers by Returning Officers The State Election Commission SEC announced the postponement after finding irregularities in withdrawal timelines and the allocation of election symbols reported the PTIIn several cases District Court rulings on appeals were delivered after November 22 or candidates were not given the mandatory threeday period to withdraw nominations under Rule 171b of the Maharashtra Municipalities Election Rules 1966 As a result the allocation of symbols on or after November 26 was deemed invalid prompting the SEC to stay the process in affected areas according to the PTIThe stay applies only to specific seats where appeals were filed The revised schedule covers seats and municipal president posts for which court orders were passed on or after November 23Campaigning ended at 10 pm on MondayNo rallies marches loudspeakers or advertisements will be allowed on voting dayThe SEC has enforced restrictions under the lsquoMedia Regulation and Advertisement Certification Order 2025rsquo which prohibits any form of election advertising in print electronic or social media on polling dayIn addition to the 24 postponed bodies polling for 154 seats across 76 other local bodies will not take place on TuesdayThe elections originally announced on November 4 are being viewed as a key indicator of public sentiment following the Mahayutirsquos sweeping victory in the 2024 assembly elections where it won 235 of the 288 seatsExperts believe the results will show whether the ruling alliancersquos momentum extends to grassroots governance or if the Opposition can consolidate its strength as per the PTIThe campaign has seen intense activity with the BJP Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawarrsquos NCP challenging the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT Sharad Pawarrsquos NCP SP and the CongressMaharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticised the SECrsquos postponement of some elections calling it ldquowrongrdquo and ldquounfairrdquo to candidates who had completed the nomination process While acknowledging the SECrsquos autonomy he maintained his opposition to the decision the news agency reportedThe BJP has already secured 100 councillor seats and three municipal president posts unopposed while the Opposition has relied heavily on its local leadership during campaigning reported the PTITo address concerns over duplicate voters the SEC introduced a verification system marking suspected entries with double stars requiring strict identity checks A new mobile app has also been launched to provide voter and candidate information including affidavitsThese elections are part of the Supreme Courtmandated process to complete all pending polls by January 31 Schedules for 29 municipal corporations including Mumbai 32 Zilla Parishads and 336 Panchayat Samitis are yet to be declaredwith PTI inputs