Staff crunch hits civic polls as 29 municipal corporations vote together

Smaller municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which rely heavily on contractual staff, have sought assistance from district collectorates in Palghar, Thane and Raigad

Mumbai: With elections to all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra being held simultaneously, civic bodies are facing a severe shortage of staff for election-related duties.

Thane, India - December -27, 2025: Municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra will be held on 15th January. In preparation for this, election staff have begun intensive preparations. Election officials are busy with their duties and are seen receiving instructions regarding upcoming tasks. At Ghanecker Hall in Thane, demonstrations and training sessions were conducted for election staff on how to handle Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). ,in Thane ,in Mumbai, India, on, Saturday, December -27, 2025. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has managed the situation due to its large workforce, smaller municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which rely heavily on contractual staff, have sought assistance from district collectorates in Palghar, Thane and Raigad.

In Palghar district, the collectorate has diverted its staff to support municipal corporations facing shortages. Officials said employees have been reassigned to election duties in the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and Bhiwandi municipal corporations. A senior district official said staff have been allocated taluka-wise to manage various election-related activities for the municipal corporation polls.

For election work in the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, 2,897 staff members have been deployed from the Dahanu and Vikramgad talukas. The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation has received the largest reinforcement, with 6,811 staff members sent from Palghar, Vasai, Talasari, Jawhar and Mokhada talukas.

Meanwhile, the Palghar collectorate has also sent 1,157 staff members from Wada taluka to support election duties in the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation.

In Thane, a senior officer of the collectorate said that the election process in Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Mira Bhayandar, Navi Mumbai, and Ulhasnagar will require 43,000 staff members. “All these municipal corporations are in the Thane district, yet there is still a shortage of staff,” the officer said.