The Maharashtra government will write to the State Election Commission (SEC) about its inability to provide manpower amidst the Covid-19 pandemic to hold the elections to five Zilla Parishads and the by-elections to seats in 33 Panchayat Samities that were rendered vacant and converted to general category following the Supreme Court verdict quashing OBC quota in local bodies, sources said on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte read out the letter from the Central government about the precautions that need to be taken in the wake of detection of the delta plus variant of coronavirus in the state cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, they said. Maharashtra State Election Commissioner UPS Madan had issued a statement stating that Dhule, Nandurbar, Akola, Washim and Nagpur Zilla Parishads will vote on July 19.