Maharashtra: Bill passed to allow municipal council president to also hold councillor post

Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) The Maharashtra legislature on Friday passed a bill allowing a person elected as president of municipal councils, nagar panchayats and industrial townships to simultaneously hold the post of councillor.

The Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was passed by the legislative council on Friday. It was earlier passed by the assembly.

Currently, the presidents of municipal councils, nagar panchayats and industrial townships are elected directly.

According to the contents of the bill, a person qualified to be elected as a councillor to the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats is also qualified to be elected as a president thereof.

Therefore, a person may contest elections as a president and also as a councillor simultaneously and may also get elected on both the posts. Such person elected on both the posts has electoral mandate of people for both the posts, it added.

A person elected indirectly as a president also continues to be a councillor and functions simultaneously as a president and a councillor.

"Therefore, the government considered it expedient that a president elected directly should be able to continue as a councillor also. It was, therefore, proposed to amend sections 51A-1A and 341B-1A of the said Act to provide specifically that person elected as a president directly and as a councillor, may simultaneously, hold both the posts," the bill draft said.

It was also proposed that such person shall have only one vote either as a president or as a councillor and in case of equality of vote, the president shall have a casting vote.

The government had come out with an ordinance on December 26 last year. The bill is intended to replace the ordinance by an act of the state legislature.

NCP (SP) Shashikant Shinde said bill is being brought to grab power and claimed it amounts to strangulation of democracy. PTI PR BNM