BMC, 28 municipal corporations to go to polls on Jan 15, here's all you need to know about upcoming civic elections

State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare made the announcement at a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. Pic/Satej Shinde

The State Election Commission (SEC) has announced that elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will be held on January 15, 2026.

Polling will be held from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on January 15 and the counting of votes will take place on January 16, 2026.

IN PHOTOS: Maharashtra SEC announces BMC Elections 2026 date; voting on January 15

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State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare made the announcement at a press conference in Mumbai. He said that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force from December 15, 2025, across all municipal corporation areas.

Model Code of Conduct come into effect

With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in all municipal corporation areas. No policy decisions related to these areas can be taken during this period, except in cases of natural disasters or emergency relief.

Municipal Corporations and term expiry

Out of the 29 municipal corporations Jalna and Ichalkaranji are newly formed, the terms of five corporations ended in 2020 and the terms of 18 corporations ended in 2022.

According to the officials, the terms of four corporations ended in 2023 and the BMC's term ended in March 2022.

Notification dates and voting time

The election notification for the BMC will be issued on December 16, 2025, while notifications for the remaining 28 municipal corporations will be issued on December 18, 2025.

Multi-member ward system

According to the State Election Commission, except for the BMC elections in the remaining 28 municipal corporations will be held under a multi-member ward system.

In the BMC, voters will cast one vote per ward

In other corporations, voters may cast three to five votes, depending on the number of seats in the ward.

Nomination process offline

Although an online system is available, the SEC has decided that nomination papers will be accepted only offline for municipal corporation elections, considering demands from political parties and candidates.

Caste validity certificate rules

Candidates contesting from reserved seats must submit a caste certificate and caste validity certificate with their nomination papers.

If the caste validity certificate is not available, candidates must submit proof of application and an undertaking to produce the certificate within six months of the election result. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of the election retrospectively.

Voters, polling stations and EVMs

According to the SEC, there are 3.48 crore voters across the 29 municipal corporations.

To conduct the elections:

- 39,147 polling stations have been set up

- 43,958 control units and 87,916 ballot units of EVMs will be used

- For the BMC alone 10,111 polling stations, 11,349 control units, 22,698 ballot units.

Measures against duplicate voters

The voter lists are based on Assembly constituency electoral rolls as of July 1, 2025.

The SEC has taken steps to identify possible duplicate voters. Such names are marked with a special symbol in the voter list. Voters with duplicate entries will be allowed to vote only at the polling station selected after verification.

‘Matadhikar' mobile app

The SEC has launched the ‘Matadhikar' mobile app to help voters -- search their name in the voter list, find polling station details and also view candidate information.

"The app is available on the Google Play Store. Voters can search using their full name or EPIC number," said an official.

The SEC has directed all municipal commissioners to run large-scale voter awareness campaigns to increase turnout.

Facilities for senior citizens and persons with disabilities

The poll officials said that special arrangements will be made at polling stations for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant women and women with infants. The facilities will include ramps, wheelchairs, drinking water, shade, electricity and toilets.

"Mobile phones will not be allowed inside polling stations," said an official.

Election staff and security

- 290 Returning Officers

- 870 Assistant Returning Officers

- Nearly 1.96 lakh election staff have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the elections.

Campaigning deadline

Campaigning will end at 5.30 pm on January 14, 2026. No political advertisements will be allowed in print, electronic or social media after this time.

The officials said that the Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMC) will be set up at municipal and state levels to certify political advertisements, monitor paid news and address complaints related to media coverage.

Key election dates

- Nominations: December 23 to December 30, 2025

- Scrutiny: December 31, 2025

- Withdrawal deadline: January 2, 2026

- Symbols and final candidate list: January 3, 2026

- Polling: January 15, 2026

- Counting: January 16, 2026