Maharashtra Local Body Polls: Polling for 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats ends, result on Dec 21

Workers of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) clashed at several polling stations during the local body elections in Maharashtra. In the Mahad Municipal Council polls in Raigad district, a scuffle broke out between supporters of Ajit Pawar and those of Shiv Sena MLA and minister Bharat Gogavale. Following the incident, Ajit Pawar took to social media platform X, urging party workers and alliance partners to maintain peace and uphold the dharma of the Mahayuti alliance.

In an X post, Pawar said, "Some incidents of violence have been reported from parts of Maharashtra, and I want to state this unequivocally: violence has no place in our democracy. Elections are a sacred process, and every citizen must be able to vote without fear or intimidation. Let the people decide who they want to elect. Alliance dharma must be honoured by all partners, but even beyond that, anyone who tries to disturb peace or influence voters through force is acting against the Constitution and against Maharashtra’s values. Such behaviour will not be tolerated."

Tensions flared between workers of Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Sharad Pawar’s NCP in Beed on polling day. The confrontation took place in the Shahunagar area of Beed city while voting was in progress. Although the exact cause of the clash remains unclear, the situation grew tense for nearly half an hour before police intervened and brought matters under control.

Voting is underway in the Lonavala municipal council elections as residents cast their votes at a polling booth in Pune district. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 21.

The Nagpur district has 15 municipal councils -- Butibori, Kalmeshwar-Bramhni, Kamtee, Katol, Khapa, Mohpa, Narkhed, Ramtek, Saoner, Digdoh (Devi), Umred, Wanadongari, Mowad, Wadi, and Kanhan-Pimpari. Read more

By 11.30 am, a voter turnout of 17.11 per cent had been recorded in the Maharashtra municipal council and nagar panchayat elections. Long queues of voters were seen at several polling stations in the morning. To attract voters, many polling stations have been decorated and designated as model polling centres.

Voting for the municipal body elections has begun in Gondia city since morning, with an enthusiastic atmosphere at the polling stations.

People are showing great excitement for this democratic event, and long queues have been visible at several polling centres since early morning. Women, youth, and first-time voters are showing particular enthusiasm. Despite the chilly morning winds, voters have reached polling stations to exercise their right to vote.

Meanwhile, at 12.30 pm, MP Praful Patel cast his vote at the Gondia NMD College polling station. On this occasion, he spoke to India TV.

By 11.30 am, voter turnout had reached 20per cent.

By 12.30 pm, a voter turnout of 18.86 per cent was recorded for elections to three municipal councils and one nagar panchayat in Washim district. Polling began for the municipal councils of Karanja, Mangrulpir and Risod and for the Malegaon nagar panchayat.

Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench rules that the counting of votes for all municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra will take place on December 21.
The model code of conduct will remain in force in Maharashtra until December 20.

On polling day in Badlapur, workers of the Shiv Sena Shinde faction and the BJP came face to face. Pushing and shoving broke out, leading to chaos. Following this, police security was increased. The incident took place in the bus depot area of Badlapur West. According to local residents, a heated argument erupted between workers of the two parties over some issue, which then escalated into pushing and physical confrontation. As tensions rose, the police brought the situation under control and stepped up security in the area.

A family member was seen carrying a senior citizen to a polling booth in Shindkheda Taluka in Dhule district so she could cast her vote.

In Jalgaon’s nagar panchayats in 2018, Muktainagar had BJP winning 13 of 17 seats. Shendurni also saw BJP with 13 seats. These results indicate BJP’s consistent performance in the district’s urban local bodies.
In Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) district, the Deolali Pravara Municipal Council recorded 18 seats in the 2016 elections, where the BJP won 16 seats. Read more

The Maharashtra Congress has released a video accusing that bogus voting took place in Buldhana district.

According to the Congress claim, two fake voters have been caught in Buldhana. They further allege that several other people were brought in vehicles for bogus voting.

Maharashtra Congress state president Harshavardhan Sapkal has written in a tweet that bogus voting is happening in Buldhana, people are being brought into the city in vehicles for bogus voting.
Vote thieves, leave the seat.
What will the administration and the Election Commission do?

Voting is underway today in fifteen municipal councils and twelve nagar panchayats of Nagpur district. Polling is being held at 853 centres for twenty seven municipal president posts and five hundred fifty councillor seats. A total of 7,29,810 voters are exercising their franchise, including 3,64,148 women and 3,65,635 men. Elections are being held after a long gap in several municipal councils and nagar panchayat areas, leading to high enthusiasm among voters.

A total of 6,250 officials and staff have been deployed across the 853 polling stations in Nagpur district.

In the Washim local body elections, 27 candidates are contesting for four president posts. Voting has begun in the four municipal bodies of the district, namely Risod, Karanja, Mangrulpir Municipal Council and Malegaon Nagar Panchayat.

A total of 27 candidates are in the fray for the four president posts, while 374 candidates are contesting for 90 member seats. Voting is taking place at 178 polling stations, with the administration fully prepared. To ensure smooth polling, 961 election staff have been deployed, and 928 police personnel have been assigned for security.

Mock polling was carried out at Pune's Chakan Zila Parishad School ahead of the first phase of local body elections. 

Voting via EVMs began at 7:30 am and will conclude at 5:30 pm with counting set for December 3. As many as 6,042 seats and 264 posts of council presidents are up for grabs in the elections across different districts in the state.

Polling is underway on 264 nagar panchayats and municipal councils in Maharashtra, results for which will be declared on December 3, Wednesday.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced the cancellation of polling on more than 25 municipal councils across several districts in the state after it detected widespread irregularities. The polling has now been rescheduled to December 20 from December 2 and the results will be declared on December 21. Read more

The Congress said on Monday that the Maharashtra State Election Commission’s decision to postpone the December 2 polling in some municipal councils and wards reflected chaotic functioning and a failure to follow its own rules.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday criticised the State Election Commission’s decision to postpone some of the upcoming local body elections, calling the move wrong and unfair to candidates. Speaking to reporters before leaving for his campaign rally in Paithan, he said that cancelling elections at the last moment because of petitions or matters pending before the courts was unjust to those who had completed the entire nomination process.

The polls have already witnessed significant political maneuvering, with the ruling Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party facing off against the Opposition MVA of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) and Congress.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sharply criticised the SEC decision to postpone some of the upcoming local body elections, terming the move "wrong" and "unfair" to candidates. He argued that cancelling elections at the last moment due to petitions or sub judice matters was an unjust action against those who had completed the full nomination process.

While acknowledging the SEC's independence, Fadnavis, a senior BJP leader, maintained his firm stance against the poll panel's decision.

The first phase of Maharashtra’s local body elections will be held on Tuesday. Voting will take place in line with Maharashtra State Election Commission guidelines. Poll timings will run from morning to evening, with the exact hours to be announced by the commission. Counting for this phase will take place on 3 December 2025, after which the results for the municipal councils or nagar panchayats included in this round will be declared.

Maharashtra is set for an important round of local body elections on December 2, with voting to take place in 242 municipal councils and 46 nagar panchayats. This marks the first phase of a three tier process mandated by the Supreme Court, according to PTI. The December 2 polls are seen as a key indicator of public sentiment in the state after the BJP led Mahayuti swept the November 2024 assembly elections, winning 235 of 288 seats. Political observers say the local body results will reveal whether that momentum carries through to grassroots governance, or whether a united Opposition can challenge the ruling coalition’s hold at the municipal level.