Mumbai, Nov 4 (NationPress) The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) officially revealed the timeline for the elections concerning 246 Nagar Parishads and 42 Nagar Panchayats throughout the state. The elections are set to take place on December 2, with the vote counting scheduled for December 3.

These local bodies comprise 6,859 members and 288 presidents.

Nomination filing will commence on November 10, with the deadline for submissions on November 17. Scrutiny of nominations will occur on November 18, with withdrawals allowed until November 25 for those with appeals and until November 31 for those without.

The announcement was made by State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, alongside Secretary Suresh Kakani.

Approximately 1.03 crore voters are expected to participate, with the cutoff date for the voters' list set for July 1.

Of the 246 Nagar Parishads, 10 are newly established.

The terms of all remaining 236 Municipal Councils have lapsed.

Additionally, out of a total of 147 Nagar Panchayats, 42 will be elected, with 15 newly formed and the remaining 27 having already completed their terms. 105 Municipal Councils still have active terms.

Commissioner Waghmare stated that electronic voting machines will be utilized during the elections, but reiterated that voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) will not be employed.

This announcement comes amidst ongoing controversies regarding vote theft, duplicate and bogus votes, with the Opposition demanding a postponement until electoral roll errors are corrected.

Opposition parties plan to approach the high court to address discrepancies in the voters' list and advocate for the local and civic body elections to be delayed until these issues are resolved.

The SEC indicates that candidates from reserved wards must provide a caste certificate and a caste validity certificate. However, the state government has modified the relevant act to allow candidates to submit a receipt of their application to the verification committee along with their nomination paperwork if the caste validity certificate is unavailable.

Nevertheless, such candidates must submit the caste validity certificate within six months following the election declaration; failure to do so may result in retroactive cancellation of their election.

The SEC has launched a dedicated website at https://mahasecelec.in for candidates to file nomination papers and affidavits for the local elections.

Through a single registration, candidates can submit up to four nomination papers for their respective wards.

Once the nomination paper and affidavit are completed online, a signed printout must be submitted to the appropriate Returning Officer within the stipulated time frame.

Waghmare emphasized that the SEC is taking duplicate voters very seriously, and a tool has been created to identify them.

Those identified as duplicate voters who do not respond to officials will be contacted to confirm their voting locations.

The SEC had previously instructed relevant authorities to scrutinize the voter lists for potential duplicate names, ensuring accurate and transparent local and civic elections.

It was reiterated that there is no provision for VVPAT use in these elections.

Potential duplicate voters in the electoral roll will be marked with a special symbol.

Local checks will verify if these individuals are indeed duplicates or separate voters.

"After an initial review of the name, gender, address, and photograph, if similarities are found, we will require a formal application from that voter detailing their voting ward and constituency. Such voters will be restricted from voting at any other polling locations," the SEC stated.

If no response is received from a potential duplicate, an undertaking will be collected, asserting that the voter has not and will not vote elsewhere. Voting will only be permitted following stringent identification procedures.

“There is no provision for VVPAT in local body election regulations. Most local elections are conducted under a multi-member ward system. The Technical Evaluation Committee of all State Election Commissions is investigating the integration of VVPAT in voting machines, and a final report is pending. Therefore, VVPAT cannot be utilized in these elections at this time,” the SEC concluded.