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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the schedule for crucial Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra. This includes a bye-election for the Nagpur Local Authorities' Constituency and biennial elections for 16 other seats across the state.
Polling for all 17 seats will take place on June 18, with the counting of votes slated for June 22. With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the concerned constituencies. The bye-election for the Nagpur Local Authorities' Constituency was necessitated after a casual vacancy was created by Chandrashekhar Krishnaraoji Bawankule. Bawankule vacated the MLC seat on November 23, 2024, following his election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The retirement date for this specific seat is January 1, 2028. Separately, the ECI announced biennial elections to fill 16 vacant seats from various Local Authorities' Constituencies. While the terms of the sitting members had already expired, the elections faced delays due to strict constitutional criteria regarding local governance representation. According to ECI guidelines, elections can only be conducted if at least 75% of local bodies in a constituency are actively functioning, and at least 75% of electors are in position. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra recently confirmed that these criteria have finally been fulfilled across all 16 constituencies, clearing the decks for the democratic process to resume. The 16 constituencies where biennial elections will be conducted include 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, and Aurangabad-cum-Jalna, the press note stated. As per the election schedule, the notification for both the biennial election and the by-election will be issued on May 25, while the last date for filing nominations is June 1. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on June 2, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till June 4. Polling will be held on June 18 between 8 am and 4 pm, while counting of votes will take place on June 22. The election process will be completed by June 25. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the concerned constituencies, the ECI said. (ANI)
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