Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will notify the boundaries of 227 wards for the upcoming elections by September 4. As per the schedule of BMC’s election department, the ground visits to geographically demarcate the ward have already begun, and the draft will be submitted to the state election commission (SEC) between July 8 to 10.
After the BMC notifies the draft of electoral ward boundaries, the citizens will get the opportunity to submit their suggestions and objections. The BMC is expected to call for suggestions and objections on the draft ward delimitation from July 22 to 31, for which a public hearing will also be held after August 1.
Taking into consideration the suggestions and objections, the government-appointed official will submit the final ward delimitation list to the SEC. Once the commission approves the revised list, the final ward boundaries will be notified by the BMC Commissioner between August 29 to September 4.
The Free Press Journal had reported in the June 12 edition that although the total number of electoral wards will remain 227, it is likely that the ward boundaries will change due to new roads, stormwater drains and other infrastructural development since 2017.
However, it will be known only after the ground visits are completed. BMC Commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani told the FPJ, “Minor changes in the ward boundaries cannot be ruled out.”
As per a senior BMC officer, the staff from the civic assessment department are conducting the ground visits, and three to four inspectors from every BMC ward are working on the ward demarcation process. Including the staff from the BMC election department, around 85 civic employees are engaged in the election duty as of now.
As the polling date will be announced and the code of conduct comes into effect, the staff from other departments will also be roped in for election duty as per requirements.
The lottery for the ward reservations will be held after the ward delimitation is announced. After which, the election dates will be announced by the SEC.
As per the Supreme Court’s order on May 6, the civic election has to be conducted within four months. The apex court has directed to continue the OBC reservation in the local body polls as it existed before 2022. The 2025 BMC elections are expected to be held at the end of October or in November 2025.
