On Tuesday, the apex court directed that all the local body polls – stalled since 2022 – in Maharashtra must be completed by January 31, 2026, without any further extension. The bench also criticised the SEC for failing to comply with its earlier orders for timely elections
NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto questioned if the BJP is afraid of the poll outcome. File pic
The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) on Tuesday demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government and the State Election Commission (SEC) immediately comply with the Supreme Court’s directive to hold pending local body elections, reported news agency PTI.
“If the government fails to conduct the polls before the deadline yet again, the apex court must take strict action,” NCP (SP) Spokesperson Clyde Crasto said.
On Tuesday, the apex court directed that all the local body polls – stalled since 2022 – in Maharashtra must be completed by January 31, 2026, without any further extension. The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, also criticised the SEC for failing to comply with its earlier orders for timely elections.
In a post on X, Crasto alleged that the BJP-led government and the SEC had earlier ignored the Supreme Court’s May 6 order to notify local body polls within four weeks and complete the elections within four months.
“Now, the apex court has given a deadline of January 31, 2026, to the State Election Commission. The BJP-led Maharashtra government and SEC should follow the order immediately. If they fail once again, the Supreme Court must take strict action,” he said, questioning whether the BJP was apprehensive about the election outcome.
He added that the poll body must conduct elections on time as directed by the top court, warning that any delay would fuel doubts over BJP’s influence on the polls.
The Supreme Court bench clarified, “Elections of all local bodies, including Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis, and all municipalities, shall be conducted by January 31, 2026. No further extension shall be granted to the state or the State Election Commission. If any logistical assistance is required, an application must be filed before October 31, 2025. No prayer will be entertained thereafter.”
The court was informed that delimitation for municipalities was underway and that the SEC had sought an extension citing insufficient EVMs and unavailability of school premises due to board exams. The bench said, “We are constrained to observe that SEC has failed to take prompt action for compliance of this court’s directions in the prescribed time schedule. However, as a one-time concession, we deem it apt to issue the following directions.”
It added, “Pending delimitation shall be completed by October 31, 2025. No further extension shall be granted. The delimitation exercise shall not be a ground to defer elections.”
Local body polls in Maharashtra were last held eight years ago to elect members of municipal councils, Nagar Panchayats, and municipal corporations.
(With PTI inputs)
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