Civic polls across Maharashtra likely in October: Minister Chandrakant Patil

PUNE: Minister for higher and technical education Chandrakant Patil said on Wednesday that the civic polls are likely to be held across the state in October, “I am hopeful that legal issues pertaining to the polls, including pending matters in courts, would be resolved by May. The ward delimitation and other processes could be carried out in the rainy season, and polls might take place in October,” he said.
Patil said orders from the Supreme Court could hopefully be expected before it goes on vacation in May. Brihanmumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Nagpur, Nashik, Kalyan-Dombivali, Vasai-Virar, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations have been without elected members for months. The administrators are controlling the affairs of civic administrations in these areas. Apart from court matters, other factors also contributed to the delay in civic polls.
They include the fourmember ward system proposed by the current state government, instead of the three-member system opted by the MVA and multiple views on OBC reservations. If any change is proposed in the ward system, the entire process of delimitation, suggestions, objections and reservation would have to be carried out, said an official.
Opposition parties blamed the state government and the ruling BJP for the delay. “The ruling parties fear that they will not get people’s mandate. The way the BJP leaders toppled the previous MVA government and assumed power was wrong. If the elections are held now, the results will go against them,” said Prashant Jagtap, the city unit chief of the Nationalist Congress Party.
The state government in the first week of August had told all civic authorities, including the Pune Municipal Corporation, to scrap the declared wards, lottery and reservations. The ward boundaries will revert to the 2017 format and new lotteries would be drawn for reserved seats after the state cabinet’s decision. The borders and numbers would change according to new delimitation. The administration will redraw the draft, publish it for public, seek suggestions and objections, and conduct hearings before making the financial announcement.