The Maharashtra State Election Commission has started the process of formation in relation to local body elections following the Supreme Court order earlier this month. A top official gave this information on Monday.
The official said that after completion of various formalities, local body elections can be held by the end of this year.
The Supreme Court on May 6 paved the way for local body elections in Maharashtra and ordered the State Election Commission to notify it in four weeks. Local body elections in Maharashtra had been staying for more than five years due to other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation issue.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, “The process of ward formation will take about 70 days. After this there will be reservation, which will take 15 more days. The process of updating the voter list will take 40 more days. Local body elections can be held by the end of this year. ”
The term of all 29 municipal corporations, 248 city councils, 42 nagar panchayats, 32 Zilla Parishad and 336 Panchayat Samitis has ended and they are currently under the administrators. The term of 27 municipal corporations ended between 2020-2023. Ichalkaranji and Jalna are the newly constructed municipal corporations.
Waghmare said, “The election was delayed due to several reasons, including petitions related to OBC reservation, ward formation, number of members in local bodies, the government taking the power of ward formation.”
On May 6, the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to issue the notification of the election in four weeks.
The controversial issue of OBC reservation will be undone in 2022 before the report of the Banthia Commission.
The Banthia Commission was formed in March 2022 to investigate the OBC reservation issue in local bodies. It recommended 27 percent reservation for OBCs within 50 percent reservation limit.
Waghmare told about Mumbai that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections will be for the current 227 seats, not for 236, as it was fixed earlier.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that according to the policy, Mahayuti will contest the local body elections together. He said that in some places he can contest different elections.
In the opposition coalition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA), the Congress has left a decision on the local party leadership, while Shiv Sena (Ubatha) chief Uddhav Thackeray has said that they are talking to their workers on the strategy of local body elections.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (SP) leader Jayant Patil has also asked his party unit to prepare for the local election. Supervisors see these elections as “small assembly”.