Mumbai: The State Election Commission (SEC) is considering a major reshuffle in the sequence of Maharashtra’s long-pending local body elections, with indications that polls for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and 28 other municipal corporations may be conducted before rural bodies.
According to senior officials, the SEC will review three election blueprints in a crucial meeting with civic chiefs scheduled today, December 4. One proposal suggests holding elections for all 29 municipal corporations in the next phase, given fewer legal complications in urban constituencies. Another option is to prioritise polls for 12 zilla parishads and their panchayat samitis that have not breached the 50% reservation ceiling. A third plan proposes conducting both sets of elections simultaneously, though officials acknowledge this may be the most logistically challenging.
A large number of rural bodies — around 157 — currently exceed the mandated reservation cap, and may only be brought into the electoral schedule once the state amends its quota framework.
Election authorities are also under pressure from the Supreme Court, which in September directed that all pending local body polls must be completed before January 31, 2026.
The BMC election is the most politically charged contest in the state. Mumbai has not seen a civic poll since 2017, when the then-undivided Shiv Sena won 84 of 227 seats and the BJP finished close behind with 82. The Congress secured 31 seats, the NCP won 13, and the MNS claimed 7.
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