Maharashtra Nagar Parishad and Panchayat Elections to be held on December 2: EC

Elections for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats across Maharashtra will be held on December 2 with counting scheduled for December 3 State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare announced on TuesdayAddressing a press conference Waghmare confirmed that the final voter list will be published on November 7 following the completion of the voter registration process A total of 17 crore are eligible to cast their votes this electionVoting will be conducted through Electronic Voting Machines EVMs and ballot units while VVPATs will not be used he clarifiedEach municipal council will have a singlemember ward and a total of 13355 polling stations will be set up across the state Over 66775 election officers and staff will be deployed to manage the election processImportant DatesStart of nomination filing November 10Last date for filing nominations November 17Scrutiny of nomination papers November 18Last date for withdrawal of nominations without appeal November 21Last date for withdrawal of nominations with appeal November 25Date of polling December 2Date of counting December 3MCC in effect across 288 local bodiesThe MCC is now applicable to 288 local bodies including 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats spread across all districts of MaharashtraKey districts under the code include Palghar Raigad Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Thane Pune Kolhapur Nashik Ahmednagar Jalgaon Nanded Aurangabad Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Solapur Beed Amravati Nagpur Chandrapur Gadchiroli and othersThe SEC has emphasised that strict monitoring will be maintained to prevent violations of the code especially misuse of government resources or announcements intended to sway votersAdditionally the commission has warned political parties and candidates to adhere strictly to the guidelines stating that any breach of the MCC will invite immediate actionVoting for these local body polls will be held on December 2 while the counting of votes is scheduled for December 3 2025Total voters and polling stationsbull Male voters ndash 5379931bull Female voters ndash 5322870bull Other voters ndash 775bull Total voters ndash 10703576bull Total polling stations ndash approximately 13355Total seats and reserved seatsbull Municipal Councils going to polls ndash 246bull Nagar Panchayats going to polls ndash 42bull Total wards ndash 3820bull Total seats ndash 6859bull Seats reserved for women ndash 3492bull Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes SC ndash 895bull Seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes ST ndash 338bull Seats reserved for Other Backward Classes OBC ndash 1821Number of Municipal CouncilsNagar Panchayats by Divisionbull Palghar ndash 4bull Raigad ndash 10bull Ratnagiri ndash 7bull Sindhudurg ndash 4bull Thane ndash 2Total for Konkan Division ndash 27bull Ahmednagar ndash 12bull Dhule ndash 4bull Jalgaon ndash 18bull Nandurbar ndash 4bull Nashik ndash 11Nashik Division Total ndash 49bull Kolhapur ndash 13bull Pune ndash 17bull Sangli ndash 8bull Satara ndash 10bull Solapur ndash 12Pune Division Total ndash 60bull Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ndash 7bull Beed ndash 6bull Dharashiv Osmanabad ndash 8bull Hingoli ndash 3bull Jalna ndash 3bull Latur ndash 5bull Nanded ndash 13bull Parbhani ndash 7Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Division Total ndash 52bull Amravati ndash 12bull Akola ndash 6bull Buldhana ndash 11bull Washim ndash 5bull Yavatmal ndash 11Amravati Division Total ndash 45bull Bhandara ndash 4bull Chandrapur ndash 11bull Gadchiroli ndash 3bull Gondia ndash 4bull Nagpur ndash 27bull Wardha ndash 6Nagpur Division Total ndash 55The SEC order also sets clear expenditure limits for candidates For municipal corporation elections the cap has been fixed at Rs 10 lakh per candidate for municipal councils and nagar panchayats between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh depending on the category and for zilla parishad and panchayat samiti polls between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakhTo make voting more accessible a special mobile app will be launched for voters to locate their polling stations check their names on the voter list and view information about candidatesThe Election Commission has also announced measures to prevent irregularities in the voter rolls Duplicate voter names will be marked with a lsquodouble starrsquo symbol and strict vigilance will be maintained to ensure fair electionsPolling staff will receive specific instructions on where to keep their mobile phones during dutyAll polling stations will have arrangements for electricity water and seating to ensure voter convenienceAdditionally lsquopink boothsrsquo managed by women staff and police personnel will be set up to encourage female participationMaharashtra has 53 lakh male and 5322 lakh female voters eligible to vote in this round of electionsAll District Collectors and Chief Executive Officers have been directed to launch extensive voter awareness campaignsAlong with traditional media the Election Commission through a letter dated June 12 has urged officials to effectively utilise newage media platforms to reach a wider audienceThe Commission has also issued detailed guidelines and recommendations on voter awareness encouraging local authorities to implement innovative initiatives at their respective levels to engage and motivate citizens to vote