Maharashtra Local Body Elections Likely by Year-End, Ward Formation Process Underway

Pratiksha Ghosh 

Maharashtra,MUMBAI  May 20 ,2025 :The long-awaited local body elections in Maharashtra are likely to be held by the end of the year, with the State Election Commission initiating the ward formation process following a Supreme Court directive earlier this month.

The polls, which have been delayed for over five years due to issues related to OBC reservation, are expected to cover all 29 municipal corporations, 248 Nagar Parishads, 42 Nagar Panchayats, 32 Zilla Parishads, and 336 Panchayat Samitis — all of which are currently being run by administrators.

State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare told PTI on Monday that ,

“The process of ward formation will take approximately 70 days, followed by 15 days for implementing reservations. Updating the electoral rolls will require another 40 days. If these stages proceed without delay, the elections can be conducted by the end of this year”.

On May 6, the apex court directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify the polls within four weeks, effectively lifting the legal and procedural obstacles that had stalled the electoral process.

One of the major  sticking points had been the issue of OBC reservation. The supreme accepted the recommendations of the Banthia Commission, which had proposed a 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes within the 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court. The Commission was constituted in March 2022 to study OBC representation in local bodies and recommended a fresh census to determine the exact quota.

Waghmare also confirmed that elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be held for 227 seats, reversing an earlier decision to increase the number to 236.

The civic polls are expected to serve as a major political battleground for the ruling Mahayuti alliance — comprising of BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP — as it seeks to replicate its success from the 2024 Assembly elections. The alliance will go up against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and the Congress.

While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that Mahayuti will contest the elections jointly as a rule, he has also left the door open for seat-specific arrangements. In the opposition camp, Congress has given local units the autonomy to decide their strategy, while Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has been consulting his party cadre. NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil has directed his party to begin preparations for the elections.

Political analysts view these polls as a mini-assembly election, with both alliances aiming to consolidate their urban and rural bases ahead of future state and national contests.