Mumbai: The fate of elections in 17 Zila Parishads across Maharashtra remains uncertain after the Supreme Court allowed polls only in districts where OBC reservation stays within the 50 per cent constitutional ceiling. While elections in 15 Zila Parishads are expected to proceed, the remaining 17 may be postponed pending further clarity from the court.
Maharashtra has 32 Zila Parishads, and in 17 of them the reservation for OBCs exceeds the permitted limit, preventing the State Election Commission (SEC) from finalising the poll schedule. “We will strictly comply with the Supreme Court order. The court has allowed elections only where reservation does not cross the 50 per cent cap,” SEC Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said.
He added that the SEC will wait for the next hearing on January 21, when the reservation breach may be reviewed. “At this stage, we are not considering elections in districts above the limit. The court has not given directions on those seats, so we will wait. Whatever the Supreme Court orders, we will follow,” he said.
Waghmare ruled out approaching the court for clarification, saying the commission did not want to risk adverse remarks. Despite the uncertainty around Zila Parishads, he confirmed that elections to 29 municipal corporations—including Nagpur and Chandrapur—will proceed smoothly and are likely to be held simultaneously by late January or early February. With multiple schedules already reshuffled, the SEC is treading cautiously.
Only after the January 21 hearing will it decide whether the stalled 17 Zila Parishad polls can move ahead or require fresh restructuring of reservation categories. Until then, a “hanging sword” remains over the affected districts, keeping parties and local voters in suspense.
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