Public holiday announced in 29 cities for Maharashtra civic elections 2026

The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Friday announced that Thursday January 15 will be a public holiday in areas falling under the 29 municipal corporations where polling for civic elections will be held an official said reported news agency PTIThe holiday will apply to government and semigovernment offices corporations boards public undertakings banks and central government offices within the jurisdiction of the civic bodies reported PTIThe poll commission said administrative preparations including readiness of EVMs electronic voting machines have been completed and urged the public to take an active part in the democratic exerciseIn a separate order State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare directed that adequate numbers of polling and counting personnel be appointed and that all such officials complete required training in time He said strict action will be taken against those officials who skip the trainingWaghmare issued the instruction during poll review meetings on January 6 and 7 Commission secretary Suresh Kakani inspectorgeneral of police Manojkumar Sharma municipal commissioners police commissioners and district superintendents of police of all 29 municipal corporations were among the other officials who attended reported PTIThe cities where voting for civic polls will be held include Mumbai Thane Navi Mumbai Ulhasnagar KalyanDombivli BhiwandiNizampur MiraBhayandar VasaiVirar Panvel Nashik Malegaon Ahilyanagar Jalgaon Dhule Pune PimpriChinchwad Solapur Kolhapur Ichalkaranji SangliMirajKupwad Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar NandedWaghala Parbhani Jalna Latur Amravati Akola Nagpur and ChandrapurOfficials were instructed to ensure smooth conduct of polling and counting to familiarise staff with arrangements at polling stations and to take every precaution to avoid inconvenience to voters Polling stations must have reliable electricity drinking water shade and toilet facilities the poll commission said reported PTIPriority should be given at polling stations to senior citizens persons with disabilities lone parents with children pregnant women and other vulnerable voters and ramps and wheelchairs should be provided it saidKakani said that the campaign period for the civic polls ends at 530 pm on January 13 after which no electionrelated advertisements may be published or broadcast in electronic print or any other media Consequently there will be no precertification or permission for paid print advertisements after the close of campaigning he added reported PTISEC chief reviews preparations visits Wilson college in MumbaiMeanwhile Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare on Thursday visited Wilson College here to inspect the ongoing process of preparing Electronic Voting Machines EVMs for the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC elections reported PTIWaghmare reviewed the arrangements and interacted with election officials staff members and representatives of various candidates present at the venueFor the BMC elections a total of 23 Returning Officers have been appointedRepresentatives of different candidates were also present during the inspection an official saidWaghmare held discussions with officials and representatives regarding election preparedness For Ward Nos 201 to 222 arrangements have been made for a total of 467 polling stations As many as 610 EVMs are being prepared for the smooth conduct of polling in these wards an SEC release said reported PTIWith inputs from PTI