Nomination process begins for Maharashtra municipal council, nagar panchayat polls

Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) The process of filing nominations for the elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats in Maharashtra began on Monday.

The State Election Commission stated that the number of nominations filed on Day 1 will be known by late evening.

The last date for filing nominations for the December 2 elections is November 17, and the forms will be scrutinised on November 18.

November 21 is the deadline to withdraw nominations, where there is no appeal and November 25 in case of appeals.

Polling will be held through EVMs to elect 6,859 members and 288 presidents in 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats on December 2, and counting of votes will be held on December 3.

As many as 1.07 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

A nagar parishad or municipal council administers smaller urban areas. It is responsible for local governance and urban development.

A nagar panchayat is a form of urban local governance for areas in transition from rural to urban, with a population between 12,000 and 40,000.

The division-wise break-up of municipal councils and nagar panchayats is: Konkan - 27, Nashik - 49, Pune - 60, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar - 52, Amravati - 45 and Nagpur - 55.

Political parties are in the midst of finalising their alliances and the number of local bodies they would contest in alliance or separately.

All eyes are on Konkan, where the possibility of an alliance of non-BJP parties against Sindhudurg Guardian Minister Nitesh Rane is being considered for the Kankavli Nagar Panchayat.

While in Nashik, the local Congress unit wants an alliance with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. However, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal is against the move. PTI MR ARU