ECI announces polls for 17 Maharashtra MLC seats; voting on June 18
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Mumbai: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the schedule for long-pending biennial elections to 17 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) from Local Authorities’ Constituencies. Voting will be held on June 18, while counting is scheduled for June 22.
According to the official press note, the electoral process will move on a fast-track timeline. The notification will be issued on May 25, nominations can be filed until June 1, scrutiny will take place on June 2, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 4. The entire process will conclude before late June, with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into immediate effect in the concerned constituencies until June 25.
The 17 seats cover multiple regions across Maharashtra, including Solapur, Ahmednagar, Thane, Jalgaon, Sangli-cum-Satara, Nanded, Yavatmal, Pune, Bhandara-cum-Gondia, Raigad-cum-Ratnagiri-cum-Sindhudurg, Nashik, Wardha-cum-Chandrapur-cum-Gadchiroli, Amravati, Osmanabad-cum-Latur-cum-Beed, Parbhani-cum-Hingoli, Aurangabad-cum-Jalna, and Nagpur. These seats have remained vacant due to retirements and a resignation spanning from January 2022 to August 2025, in the case of Aurangabad-cum-Jalna.
The 17th vacancy from Nagpur arose on November 23, 2024, after BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule resigned following his election to the state Assembly from Kamthi. He was originally due to retire in January 2028.
The prolonged delay in holding these elections was primarily due to the non-fulfilment of Election Commission norms requiring at least 75 per cent of local bodies and electors in each constituency to be functional. This condition was not met earlier because of the large number of pending local body elections across Maharashtra. However, the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra has now confirmed that the required threshold has been achieved across all affected constituencies, enabling the polls to be conducted.
The ECI noted that the vacancies have accumulated since 2022, leaving several regions without representation in the Legislative Council. With the announcement, democratic representation in these areas is set to be restored.
On the political front, the ruling Mahayuti alliance is expected to have an advantage, following strong performances in recent local self-government elections. Key regions such as Pune, Thane, Nashik, Sangli-Satara and Yavatmal are largely dominated by ruling alliance representatives, strengthening their position in the indirect electoral college system used for these seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is aiming to secure a significant share of the 17 seats, while the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde is expected to focus on strongholds such as Thane-Palghar and Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
For the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), the contest presents a challenging scenario. Unlike Assembly-based MLC elections, these local authority seats follow a winner-takes-all system based on councillor strength, making ground-level control crucial.
Political analysts noted that performance in municipal corporations and local bodies will directly influence outcomes, with opposition prospects appearing weaker in several regions due to recent electoral setbacks. However, pockets such as Kolhapur and parts of Marathwada may still offer limited resistance due to established local networks.
With 10 newly elected members recently sworn in, including six from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling alliance is close to an absolute majority in the Council. A strong performance in these 17 seats would further consolidate its dominance, enabling smoother passage of infrastructure, industrial and administrative decisions for the state government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
With PTI inputs