MahaYuti govt. faces 1st big test in today’s civic polls
Campaigning in Maharashtra came to an end at 10 pm on Monday as 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats head to the polls on Tuesday. The polls are considered as the first significant electoral test since assuming power for the ruling Mahayuti government in the state.
Despite the Mahayuti parties, comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, are in power in the state, at several places they are fighting against each other. The Sindhudurg district proved to be a major flashpoint between the BJP and the Shinde Sena with the accusations of money distribution.
At some of the places, there are ‘friendly fights’ and treaties between the ruling alliance partners. Against the high-pitched campaigning of the ruling parties, the opposition alliance - consisting of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress - was seen as taking s backseat.
On this backdrop, the elections are seen as a major indicator of political sentiment in Maharashtra after the BJP-led Mahayuti secured a landslide victory in last year’s Vidhan Sabha elections, bagging 235 out of 288 seats.
The BJP has already secured 100 councillor and three municipal president positions unopposed, with the party's State unit chief Ravindra Chavan attributing this success to the public's trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' leadership.
The local body elections will take place in all the six administrative divisions, in which 1.07 crore people, which includes 53.79 lakh males, 53.22 lakh females and 775 others, will be eligible to cast their votes.
The six different divisions in Maharashtra are Konkan (27), Nashik (49), Pune (60), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar/Aurangabad (52), Amravati (45) and Nagpur (55).
According to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC), the voting will begin at 7.30 am at approximately 13,355 polling stations and will continue till 5.30 pm. The counting of votes, meanwhile, will take place on Wednesday (December 3).
There are 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats where polling would be held on December 2. In total, there are 3,820 wards and 6,859 seats (6,145 municipal councils and 714 nagar panchayats), according to the SEC.
Out of this, 3,492 seats are reserved for women. Besides, 895 seats are reserved for the scheduled castes (SCs) and 338 for scheduled tribes (STs). Other than this, 1,821 seats are also reserved for the other backward classes (OBCs).
For the local body elections, the State Government on December 2 has declared a paid holiday, which will help the citizens cast their votes in their respective municipal councils and nagar panchayats. Firms and organisations have also been directed to provide two to three hours of leave to their employees and workers if they are unable to grant them a full-day holiday, according to the Government Resolution (GR) issued on November 28.