Mumbai: The State Election Commission of Maharashtra has revised the schedule for upcoming local body elections in the state. Voting for Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis will now be conducted on February 7, while the counting of votes has been rescheduled to February 9.
The decision to change the election dates was taken after the state government announced a three-day mourning period following the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a tragic plane crash. In view of the mourning period, the election authority decided to defer the polling process to ensure smooth conduct of the democratic exercise.
Earlier, the elections were planned for early February, with polling scheduled for February 5 and vote counting on February 7. The revised dates apply to elections across 12 districts of Maharashtra, covering both rural district councils and block-level administrative bodies.
The elections will be held in districts including Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dharashiv, Latur, and Parbhani. To facilitate voting, more than 25,000 polling centres will be set up across these regions.
A large electorate is expected to participate, with over two crore registered voters eligible to cast their ballots. This includes a significant number of women voters, reflecting broad public participation in local governance.
Voters will cast two separate votes on polling day — one to elect members of the Zilla Parishad and another for the Panchayat Samiti. The elections will decide representatives for hundreds of seats, including positions reserved for women and various social categories, as part of the state’s reservation policy.
