Political parties begin poll preparations
The Supreme Court has ordered Maharashtra to hold local polls by January 2026, surprising political parties who expected delays.
The Supreme Court’s instruction to the state election commission (SEC) and the Maharashtra government to hold local polls before January 2026 has caught political parties off guard, as they had anticipated a delay.
Both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have asked workers to start preparations for the polls.
Both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar have begun holding meetings in Pune city for municipal elections.
NCP (SP) city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, “We are ready for the elections. In fact, we have been demanding it since last two years.”
Bharatiya Janata Party city unit president Dheeraj Ghate said, “Our preparations are a continuous process not limited to poll time.”
Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde said, “The elections needed to be conducted much earlier. The ruling party intentionally delayed it and kept elected members away from the local bodies.”
The apex court on Tuesday fixed January 31, 2026, as the deadline for holding the local polls in Maharashtra. The court instructed that the delimitation exercise be completed by October 31. Local elections in the state have remained stalled since 2022 over court cases related to the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
