Maharashtra SEC Confirms Local Body Polls Will Proceed as Planned

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has firmly rejected demands from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition to postpone the upcoming local body elections. A senior SEC official announced that preparations are underway to conduct the polls in three phases, with a notification expected to be issued shortly.

The MVA, which includes leaders such as Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Balasaheb Thorat from the Congress party, organized a protest rally in Mumbai on Saturday. The coalition claims there are significant discrepancies in the voter lists, alleging issues such as duplicate names and the presence of fictitious voters. They have called for the elections to be postponed until these issues are addressed.

In response, the SEC emphasized that it is under a clear directive from the Supreme Court to complete the elections by January 31, 2024. The official noted, “Conducting the body polls is a mammoth task. Unless we start conducting the polls in phases, it would be difficult to meet the deadline.” This indicates a pressing timeline for the commission as it prepares to engage with over 685 local bodies, including 29 municipal corporations, 32 zilla parishads, 42 nagar panchayats, and 336 panchayat samitis.

The SEC has already marked voters whose names appear multiple times in the lists with asterisks. However, the commission has faced challenges, including a lack of positive response from the Election Commission regarding modifications to the voter lists, which were requested to be updated from July 1 until October 15.

While the exact order of polling for urban versus rural areas has not yet been determined, SEC officials stated, “We will spell out all details in the notification.” As preparations advance, it remains to be seen how the SEC will address the concerns raised by the MVA and ensure the integrity of the electoral process while adhering to the mandated schedule.