Mumbai: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the election schedule to fill 17 vacancies in the legislative council.
Polls overdue as seats fell vacant from 2022 onward from Local Authorities' Constituencies
A major political churn is expected as the polls were overdue after the seats started to fall vacant from 2022 onward. All the seats are from the Local Authorities’ Constituencies (LACs), where members of municipal bodies and Zilla Parishads, along with the Chairman of the Panchayat Samitis, cast their votes.
The elections will be held for the following constituencies: Solapur, Ahmednagar, Thane, Jalgaon, Sangli-Satara, Nanded, Yavatmal, Pune, Bhandara-Gondia, Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Nashik, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Amravati, Osmanabad-Beed-Latur, Parbhani-Hingoli and Aurangabad-Jalna. A by-election will also be held for the Nagpur Local Authorities’ Constituency, which fell vacant in 2024 after revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was elected from the Kamptee assembly constituency.
Polls pending as local bodies lacked 75% elected members; norms now met
The elections from the LACs had been pending for as long as almost all local bodies lacked elected members who constitute the valid electorate. According to the ECI guidelines, elections to a Local Authority’s constituency can be conducted only if at least 75% of the local bodies in the constituency are functional with 75% elected members. The election schedule was announced following a communication from the state's chief electoral officer to the ECI informing it that the current situation meets the prescribed norms.
Of the constituencies going to the polls, BJP members previously represented seven seats, Congress and NCP three each, and Shiv Sena four. The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, is expected to win a majority of the seats owing to its impressive performance in the local body polls.
Congress to contest 7 seats; will support allies in remaining 10
The Congress, a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, has indicated that it will contest seven seats. Spokesperson Atul Londhe said the party is likely to field candidates from the Solapur, Nanded, Yavatmal, Bhandara-Gondia, Wardha-Chandrapur and Amravati seats, besides the by-election in Nagpur. The party will support its allies in the remaining 10 seats, he added.
Polling schedule
June 1
Nomination deadline
June 4
Withdrawal deadline
June 18
Voting
June 22
Counting
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