Mumbai, Dec 2 (NationPress) The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has scheduled an online assembly of 29 Municipal Commissioners on December 4 to assess the preparations for upcoming elections, which are likely to be conducted prior to the rural Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis.

This video conference with all Municipal Commissioners aims to address relevant issues pertaining to the elections.

Recently, the Supreme Court approved the SEC's request to hold local body elections in Maharashtra, although it did not outline the procedure for rural local bodies that have exceeded the 50 percent reservation threshold.

In Maharashtra, 17 out of 32 Zilla Parishads and 88 out of 336 Panchayat Samitis have surpassed this reservation limit.

Conversely, the court permitted elections in all 29 municipal corporations statewide, even as Nagpur and Chandrapur slightly exceeded the 50 percent reservation mark.

A senior SEC official stated, "The SEC is considering a cautious approach since clear guidelines have been established for urban local bodies. Originally, municipal corporation elections were slated for the final phase of local body polls. However, with the Supreme Court's explicit endorsement for elections in all urban bodies, we can now proceed with the preparations."

According to the updated timeline for urban areas, the previous deadline of November 27 for submitting objections regarding the voters' list for municipal corporations has been extended to December 3.

The publication of the final voters' list, which was initially set for December 5, is now rescheduled for December 10.

"Once the final voters' list is released, the SEC can announce the elections at any moment. Thus, the meeting with Municipal Commissioners on December 4 is timely, as it follows the objection submission deadline and will clarify the next steps," the official added.

He further noted that the directive is to conduct elections in local bodies that do not exceed the 50 percent reservation threshold.

"As it stands, the reservation in 17 Zilla Parishads and 88 Panchayat Samitis is above 50 percent, and we have yet to make a decision on this matter. Holding elections for the remaining Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis now would leave others in uncertainty," he mentioned, suggesting that the SEC may prioritize urban local body elections over others.

Out of the 34 Zilla Parishads, 32 currently have administrators, with the exceptions being Bhandara and Gondia.

The terms for these two Zilla Parishads will conclude in May 2027.

Of the total 351 Panchayat Samitis, 336 are overseen by administrators where elections are due.