Maharashtra Municipal Elections 2026: Polling for 29 Corporations on January 15; Code of Conduct Enforced

Overview of Elections and Key Dates

This election will be held for a total of 2,869 seats, which includes the 227 seats of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The SEC stated that the entire election process is being conducted subject to the final outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Event	Date
Voting Day	January 15, 2026
Counting Day	January 16, 2026
BMC Election Notification	December 16, 2025
Notification for 28 Other Corporations	December 18, 2025
Nomination Filing Period	December 23 to December 30, 2025
Scrutiny of Nominations	December 31, 2025
Final Date for Withdrawal of Candidature	January 02, 2026
Election Symbol Allotment	January 03, 2026
Final List of Candidates	January 03, 2026

Voting will be held from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM on January 15, 2026. The process of publishing the notifications will be carried out by the respective Municipal Commissioners.

Model Code of Conduct

The Model Code of Conduct has been implemented immediately within the jurisdiction of all concerned Municipal Corporations, effective from the date of the election program announcement.

The Code of Conduct applies to the corporation’s functional area. However, no declaration or action that influences the voters of the Municipal Corporation can be made elsewhere.
The government is restricted from taking policy decisions related to the Municipal Corporation’s functional area due to the enforcement of the code.
The Code will not impede measures or assistance related to natural calamities.
Compliance with the Code of Conduct is mandatory as per the SEC’s order dated November 4, 2025. Orders related to Law and Order were also issued on November 4, 2025.

List of Corporations

The elections cover 29 Municipal Corporations. This list includes two newly formed corporations: Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Corporations (5) expired in 2020	Corporations (18) expired in 2022	Corporations (4) expired in 2023	New Corporations (2)
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Apr 27)	Nagpur (Mar 04)	Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad (Aug 19)	Jalna
Navi Mumbai (May 07)	Brihanmumbai (Mar 07)	Jalgaon (Sep 17)	Ichalkaranji
Vasai-Virar (Jun 28)	Solapur (Mar 07)	Ahilyanagar (Dec 27)
Kalyan-Dombivli (Nov 10)	Amravati (Mar 08)	Dhule (Dec 30)
Kolhapur (Nov 15)	Akola (Mar 08)
	Nashik (Mar 13)
	Pimpri-Chinchwad (Mar 13)
	Pune (Mar 14)
	Ulhasnagar (Apr 04)
	Thane (Apr 05)
	Chandrapur (Apr 29)
	Parbhani (May 15)
	Latur (May 21)
	Bhiwandi-Nizampur (Jun 08)
	Malegaon (Jun 13)
	Panvel (Jul 09)
	Mira-Bhayandar (Aug 27)
	Nanded-Waghala (Oct 31)

Electoral Structure and Procedure

Multi-Member System

The elections for 28 Municipal Corporations, excluding BMC, will be held using the multi-member ward system.

Wards under this system generally have four seats, though some corporations/wards may have three or five.
Voters in these 28 corporations are expected to cast at least 3 to 5 votes.
In the BMC, a single-member ward system is followed, meaning voters will cast only one vote per ward.

Offline Nominations

Considering the demand from various political parties and candidates in past local body elections, the SEC has allowed nomination papers to be filed via the traditional offline method for the Municipal Corporation elections, despite the availability of an online computer-based system.

Candidate Expenditure Limits

The expenditure limits for candidates have been categorized based on the corporation class:

₹ 15,00,000/-: Brihanmumbai and ‘A’ Class Corporations (Pune, Nagpur)
₹ 13,00,000/-: ‘B’ Class Corporations (Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Thane)
₹ 11,00,000/-: ‘C’ Class Corporations (Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai, Chh. Sambhajinagar, Vasai-Virar)
₹ 09,00,000/-: ‘D’ Class Corporations (Remaining 19)

Reserved Seats and Caste Validity

Candidates contesting on reserved seats must submit their Caste Certificate and a Caste Validity Certificate along with their nomination form. If the Caste Validity Certificate is not attached, the candidate must provide a true copy of the application submitted to the Caste Verification Committee or any other proof of such application.

A written undertaking must be provided by the candidate, assuring the submission of the Caste Validity Certificate within a six-month period. Failure to submit the certificate within six months from the date of the result declaration will result in the candidate’s selection being cancelled with retrospective effect.

Voter, Polling Stations, and EVMs

Total Electorate: 3,48,78,017
- Male Voters: 1,81,93,666
- Female Voters: 1,66,79,755
- Other Voters: 4,596
Total Polling Stations: 39,147

Sufficient Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been arranged: 43,958 Control Units and 87,916 Ballot Units are available. For BMC’s approximately 10,111 polling stations, 11,349 Control Units and 22,698 Ballot Units have been arranged.

Ensuring Clean Electoral Rolls

The SEC utilizes the Assembly Constituency electoral rolls prepared by the Election Commission of India for local body elections. The SEC has fixed July 1, 2025, as the reference date and has segmented these lists ward-wise. The SEC does not have the authority to delete or add names; however, it has taken extensive precautions regarding potential duplicate voters.

Final ward-wise electoral rolls were published on December 15, 2025.
The list of polling centre locations will be published on December 20, 2025.
Polling centre-wise electoral rolls will be published on December 27, 2025.

Instructions have been given to all Municipal Commissioners and District Collectors regarding potential duplicate voters. The BMC has developed a separate computer system/application to trace such voters, and other corporations are also employing various techniques.

Potential duplicate voters are marked with (**) against their name in the ward-wise list.
These voters are being urged to declare where they will cast their vote, and verification is being done house-to-house.
If a voter with a duplicate name comes to a polling centre, they must provide a written guarantee that they have not and will not vote at any other centre. They will be allowed to vote only after strict identification.

Voter Facilitation and Awareness

‘Matadhikar’ Mobile App

The SEC has made the ‘Matadhikar’ mobile app available on the Google Play Store to help voters find their name, polling station, and information about candidates. Voters can search using their ‘Full Name’ or ‘Electoral Photo Identity Card’ (EPIC) number, followed by selecting the district and Municipal Corporation name. The website https://mahasecvoterlist.in/ also offers a name search option.

Voter Awareness

Municipal Commissioners have been directed to conduct large-scale voter awareness campaigns to increase turnout. Instructions were given on June 12, 2025, to strategically use both traditional and new media. Special emphasis is being placed on voter awareness in major corporations, including the BMC.

Amenities for Special Categories

Priority for voting will be given to senior citizens, persons with disabilities (Divyang), women with infants, and pregnant women.

Temporary ramps will be provided if permanent ramps are unavailable. Wheelchairs will also be arranged.
Basic facilities—electricity, drinking water, shade, and toilets—will be provided at all polling centres. Efforts will be made to establish ‘Model Polling Centres’ where possible.
‘Pink Polling Centres,’ staffed entirely by women election officers, employees, and police personnel, will be set up in areas with a higher number of female voters.
Mobile phones are prohibited inside the polling centres for voters.

Manpower Management

Required Election Officers: 290 Returning Officers and 870 Assistant Returning Officers have been arranged.
Required Staff: Approximately 1,96,605 election officers and employees are needed, and arrangements have been made.
Instructions have been provided to Revenue Divisional Commissioners and all Municipal Commissioners regarding the availability of required manpower, and meetings have been held.

Campaign Restrictions

The general public campaign period will end 48 hours before the conclusion of polling as stipulated by Section ’27AA’ of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, and Section 14(4) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act.

As voting ends at 5:30 PM on January 15, 2026, the public campaign will cease at 5:30 PM on January 14, 2026.
The publication or broadcast of campaign advertisements through print, electronic, and social media is prohibited after the campaign period ends.

Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC)

Immediately following the election announcement, the respective Municipal Commissioners will establish a ‘Municipal Corporation Level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee’ in accordance with the SEC’s ‘Media Monitoring and Advertisement Certification Order, 2025’ dated October 9, 2025.

The Municipal Commissioner will serve as the Chairperson, and the Municipal Corporation’s Public Relations Officer will be the Member Secretary.
This committee will pre-certify proposed advertisements for electronic media, investigate and resolve complaints related to ‘paid news,’ and monitor media coverage compliance.
A ‘State Level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee,’ headed by the SEC Secretary, will operate at the state level.

Entry passes for media representatives to polling and counting centres will be issued by the respective Municipal Commissioners, including the BMC Commissioner, as per Paragraph 20 of the SEC’s October 9, 2025 order.

Dialogue with Political Parties

The SEC has held three meetings with representatives of registered recognized political parties on October 14, 2025, December 01, 2025, and December 12, 2025. Parties were briefed on election preparations, the multi-member system, court orders, EVM arrangements, and Strong Room security. Clarifications were provided regarding ‘Annexure-1’ and ‘Annexure-2’ to be filed with nomination papers. The maximum number of star campaigners has been increased from 20 to 40.

Reserved Seats Breakdown

Total Wards (Prabhags): 893
Total Seats: 2,869
Seats Reserved for Women: 1,442
Seats Reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC): 341
Seats Reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST): 77
Seats Reserved for Backward Class Citizens (BCC): 759