SC greenlights Maharashtra local body elections but keeps reservation cap tight

The apex court said that polls for local bodies can proceed as per the election schedule. File pic/Ashish Raje

Elections to the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations will be held before January 31, 2026, the deadline set by the Supreme Court for completing all local body polls in Maharashtra.

On Friday, the apex court said that polls for local bodies can proceed as per the election schedule. However, it clearly directed the State Election Commission not to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap in places where the limit has not already been crossed.

The bench also noted that the results of these elections will be subject to the outcome of the proceedings before it that challenge the reservation for the Other Backward Classes. The matter will next be heard on January 21, 2026.

The last BMC election was held in 2017, and the five-year term of the 227 corporators ended in 2022. Along with the BMC, civic polls for Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Mira Bhayandar will also be held before the Supreme Court's deadline.