Mumbai: Mumbai may be in focus due to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, but the upcoming civic polls in Maharashtra extend far beyond the state capital. The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Monday announced that elections will be held for 29 municipal corporations across the state, covering almost every major urban centre.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, while addressing a press conference, said that polling for all 29 municipal corporations will be conducted in a single phase on January 15, 2026, with vote counting scheduled for January 16, 2026. These elections will decide the fate of 2,869 corporator seats, making it one of the largest local body election exercises in Maharashtra.
The election process will formally begin with the filing of nomination papers from December 23 to December 30, 2025. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on December 31, while January 2, 2026, will be the last date for candidates to withdraw their nominations. The final list of candidates and symbol allocation will be published soon after.
According to the Election Commission, over three crore voters are expected to participate in the civic polls. Voting will be conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) across all municipal corporations.
To prevent misuse of voting rights due to duplicate entries in electoral rolls, the Commission has introduced a special safeguard. Voters whose names appear more than once will have a double-star mark next to their names. Such voters will be required to submit a written declaration and affidavit, clearly stating the polling booth where they intend to vote.
The Model Code of Conduct for municipal corporations has come into force with immediate effect, and campaigning will end 24 hours before polling day.
Municipal Corporations Going to Polls (Apart from BMC):
- Thane Municipal Corporation
- Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation
- Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Municipal Corporation
- Jalgaon Municipal Corporation
- Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation
- Kolhapur Municipal Corporation
- Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation
- Nanded-Waghala Municipal Corporation
- Malegaon Municipal Corporation
- Latur Municipal Corporation
- Parbhani Municipal Corporation
- Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation
- Vasai–Virar City Municipal Corporation
- Pune Municipal Corporation
- Nagpur Municipal Corporation
- Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation
- Nashik Municipal Corporation
- Solapur Municipal Corporation
- Amravati Municipal Corporation
- Akola Municipal Corporation
- Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation
- Panvel Municipal Corporation
- Chandrapur Municipal Corporation
- Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation
- Dhule Municipal Corporation
- Ichalkaranji Municipal Corporation
- Jalna Municipal Corporation
Meanwhile, the first phase of Maharashtra’s local body elections was conducted on December 2, covering 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats. Elections in 24 local bodies, which were earlier scheduled for December 20, have been postponed. Results for these local body polls will be declared on December 21.
