Maharashtra local body elections on Dec 2; litmus test for Mahayuti government

Maharashtra is set to go to the polls on December 2 for a crucial round of local body elections covering 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats marking the first phase of a threetier electoral process mandated by the Supreme CourtThe elections are viewed as a major test of political sentiment following the BJPled Mahayuti alliancersquos sweeping victory in the November 2024 Assembly elections where it secured 235 of 288 seatsPolitical analysts note that the results will indicate whether the coalitionrsquos recent electoral momentum will extend to grassroots governance or if opposition parties can regain ground at the municipal level reported the PTIThe campaign period has been extended until 10 pm on December 1 with counting scheduled for December 3 The model code of conduct has been in force since State Election Commission had earlier announced the poll schedule on November 4The elections will decide the fate of 6859 councillors and 288 council presidents with more than 107 crore eligible voters expected to cast their ballots across 13355 polling stations Electronic Voting Machines will be used throughout and more than 66000 personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the election process according to the PTIAccording to officials of the total seats 3492 are reserved for women 895 for Scheduled Castes 338 for Scheduled Tribes and 1821 for Other Backward Classes The expenditure cap for candidates has been fixed at Rs 15 lakh for council president posts and Rs 12 lakh for councillor positionsThe nomination process began on November 10 closing on November 17 with scrutiny held on November 18 and the deadline for withdrawals on November 21 Over 51000 nominations were received as per the PTIOf the 246 municipal councils going to the polls 10 are newly formed Among the 42 nagar panchayats 15 are newly constituted while 27 have completed their terms Regionally the elections cover 27 councils in Konkan 59 in Nashik division 60 in Pune division and 55 in Nagpur division making this an extensive exercise across urban and semiurban MaharashtraPolitical manoeuvring has been intense with the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawarrsquos NCP contesting against the Maha Vikas Aghadi Shiv Sena UBT NCP SP and CongressThe BJP has already secured 100 councillor seats and three council president positions unopposed a development state party chief Ravindra Chavan attributed to public confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisrsquo leadership However the party has faced criticism in Loha Nagar Parishad in Nanded where NCP MLA Pratap Patil Chikhalikar questioned the BJP for awarding six tickets to members of the Suryavanshi family sparking debate over dynastic politicsThe elections are being held amid opposition demands for postponement citing alleged irregularities in voter rolls including duplicate and bogus entriesIn response the Election Commission has introduced a verification system marking suspected duplicate voters with double stars and requiring strict identity checks at polling stations the news agency reportedTo improve transparency the Election Commission has launched a mobile app offering voter and candidate information including candidate affidavits and published boothwise voter lists on November 7The Maharashtra local body elections are part of a Supreme Court directive requiring all pending elections in Maharashtra to be completed by January 31 2026Poll schedules for 29 municipal corporations 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis are yet to be released The longdelayed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections last held in 2017 are expected around midJanuarywith PTI inputs