Maharashtra Local Elections 2025 Begin December 2, Spanning Multiple Phases Until January 31
Maharashtra will conduct its local elections beginning on December 2, 2025, when the state's hundreds of municipal councils (Panchayat samitis/nagar panchayats) will conduct polling. The Supreme Court has mandated a multiphase polling system for local elections, which will continue until January 31, 2026.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) December 1: Maharashtra will soon enter into one of the largest and most important democratic events in the state's history, the local elections of 2025. The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) announced that polling for the first phase of the elections, which will include 246 municipal councils, plus 42 nagar panchayats, will begin December 2, 2025.
Voter List Updates and EVM Distribution Aim for Transparent Polls
The next local elections are going to be a significant event in determining the local leadership of the state because of the changes that have been made to the ward boundaries and during this time, the updating of the voter list and the addition of new local bodies to be represented. As such, local elections in 2025 will serve as a very important test of public confidence and of local leaders.
Maharashtra's first local elections of 2025 will be some of the largest and most significant democratic milestones in the state's history. The SEC has established a schedule for when voters will receive their EVMs (Electronic Voting Machine) to cast their votes and how voters will participate through the polls during all phases of the election process.
Phase One Starts December 2 with Voting in 288 Local Bodies
The polling begins on December 2, 2025, and runs through December 3, 2025, when all votes will be counted and final results from each of the state’s 288 local bodies will be announced, along with the full list of 6,859 local leaders. An estimated 1.07 crore registered voters will participate in the election at 13,355 designated polling places throughout the state.
The local elections are expected to be a reflection of how the political landscape has changed since the Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP swept the November 2024 Assembly election with an overwhelming majority of 235 out of 288 legislative assembly seats.
Opposition Demands Delay Over Duplicate Voter Concerns Addressed
Elections will happen during a period when the opposition parties are demanding that these elections be delayed until legitimate voter rolls are received. They have alleged that the revised voter rolls released on July 1 contained duplicate and fictitious entries.
To resolve these concerns, the ECI implemented a verification process that marks suspected duplicate voters with a double asterisk in the record. These voters will undergo strict identification verification at their polling locations. They have also issued a mobile phone application that contains not only candidate information but also the affidavits of the candidates themselves, and booth-specific voter registration lists were made available to the public on November 7.
Supreme Court directs a Limited Time Frame for Elections
The SEC will conduct these elections in a staggered fashion, with multiple phases scheduled until January 31, 2026, in order to assist municipalities and rural communities across the state with voting. The Supreme Court also mandated that the SEC conduct these elections within this timetable.
The role of local elections cannot be overstated when it comes to governance. In our daily lives, the selection of representatives decides who will be responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure (roadways), water supply, sanitation, health services, etc., all of which have a direct impact on our daily lives.
