Offline Nomination Filing for Maharashtra Local Body Elections Approved

Maharashtra's State Election Commissioner, Dinesh Waghmare, announced that candidates can file nomination papers offline for upcoming local body elections. Earlier allowed for municipal council polls, this option now extends to municipal corporations, zilla parishads, and panchayat samitis. Efforts are underway to verify voter rolls and eliminate duplicates.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has given the green light for offline nominations for upcoming local body elections, according to an announcement by State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare. This move allows candidates for municipal corporations, zilla parishads, and panchayat samitis to file their papers offline, an option previously limited to municipal councils and nagar panchayat polls.

In a meeting held at the State Election Commission office, Waghmare discussed the initiative alongside representatives from recognized political parties. The meeting was attended by several key officials, including SEC Secretary Suresh Kakani and BMC Additional Commissioner Ashwini Joshi. Participants addressed critical electoral challenges, such as verifying the voter list to filter out duplicates.

With elections scheduled for 336 panchayat samitis, 29 municipal corporations, and 32 zilla parishads before January 31, the voting and counting dates remain unannounced. To tackle suspected duplicate voters, the BMC has developed a software tool paired with field checks, bolstered by online and mobile resources for voters to verify their registration status.