Govt announces quota for polls to chairperson posts of 34 ZPs in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) The Maharashtra government on Friday announced category-wise reservation for elections to the posts of chairpersons in 34 Zilla Parishads, including Thane, Pune and Nagpur.

Out of the 34 posts declared, 18 have been reserved for women as per the state government's policy of 50 per cent quota for them in local self-government institutions.

Thane, Kolhapur, Sangli, Dharashiv, Latur, Amravati, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Ahilyanagar, Akola, Washim, Beed, Chandrapur, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Satara, Jalna and Nanded are among the districts where women will occupy the chairperson's post.

According to the rural development department, nine Zilla Parishads will have chairpersons from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. They are Solapur, Hingoli, Nagpur, Bhandara, Ratnagiri (women), Dhule (women), Satara (women), Jalna (women) and Nanded (women).

For the Scheduled Tribes (ST), the chairperson posts in Palghar, Nandurbar, Ahilyanagar (women), Akola (women) and Washim (women) have been set aside, while Parbhani, Wardha, Beed (women) and Chandrapur (women) have been earmarked for Scheduled Castes (SC).

Candidates of general category can fight for the chairpersons' post in Raigad, Sindhudurg, Nashik, Jalgaon, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Thane (women), Kolhapur (women), Sangli (women), Dharashiv (women), Latur (women), Amravati (women), Gondia (women) and Gadchiroli (women).

With the announcement of these seats, political parties are expected to intensify preparations for the long-pending elections to local bodies, which are slated to take place after Diwali. Parties will now focus on fielding suitable candidates in the reserved constituencies and ensuring their victory. PTI ND NP