23 January,2026 06:41 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The elections will be held for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis across Maharashtra on February 5. File Pic
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Friday announced a list of 40 star campaigners for the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in the state.
The elections will be held for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis across Maharashtra on February 5.
The party said the leaders will campaign in different districts to strengthen the Congress organisation at the grassroots level.
The list includes several senior leaders from both the state and national level. Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, State Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal, and Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Vijay Wadettiwar are among the prominent names.
Other senior leaders include Member of Parliament Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Legislative Council group leader Satej alias Bunty Patil, AICC General Secretary and MP Mukul Wasnik, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, and Congress Working Committee member Balasaheb Thorat.
The list also features MP Rajni Patil, Goa in-charge Manikrao Thakre, former state president Nana Patole, Rajya Sabha MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Chandrakant Handore, and senior leaders Naseem Khan and Yashomati Thakur.
Other star campaigners include MP Praniti Shinde, MLAs Amin Patel, Amit Deshmukh, Dr Vishwajit Kadam, former ministers Dr Nitin Raut, Ramesh Bagwe, Vasant Purke, and former MP Hussain Dalwai.
Leaders from various party wings have also been included. These include Minority Department president Wajahat Mirza, senior spokesperson Atul Londhe, OBC Department president Yashpal Bhinge, Women's Congress state president Sandhya Sawwalakhe, Youth Congress state president Shivraj More, Seva Dal state president Vilas Autade, and NSUI state president Sagar Salunkhe.
According to the Congress, the star campaigners will focus on local governance issues, rural development and strengthening democratic institutions during the campaign.
Elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra will be held on February 5, 2026, with the counting of votes scheduled for February 7, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The election programme was announced a day after the Supreme Court extended the deadline for completing Maharashtra local body elections by two weeks beyond the earlier January 31 timeline.
With the announcement of the schedule at a press conference addressed by State Election Commission (SEC) Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the concerned districts.
The elections will cover Zilla Parishads in 12 districts along with their corresponding 125 Panchayat Samitis. The SEC is making arrangements for approximately 25,482 polling stations across the state.
Polling will be conducted from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on February 5.
