Maharashtra State Election Commission Requests Deferral of Electoral Roll Revision Until 2026

Elections to all 29 municipal corporations and 247 municipal councils are pending in Maharashtra.

Mumbai:

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has asked the Election Commission to postpone any plans for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls until January 2026, citing upcoming local body elections.

In a letter dated September 9, the State Election Commission (SEC) noted that officials would be occupied with conducting local body elections.

"The Supreme Court of India, in its order dated 6th May 2025, directed the State Election Commission to make efforts to complete local body elections in Maharashtra within four months, while allowing the Commission to request time extensions when necessary," the letter stated.

A senior official confirmed on Monday that elections are pending for all 29 municipal corporations, 247 municipal councils, 42 out of 147 nagar panchayats, 32 out of 34 zilla parishads, and 336 out of 351 panchayat samitis in Maharashtra.

The SEC highlighted that the same officials would be responsible for both the SIR and local body elections.

The election process for these local bodies is expected to continue until January 2026, during which most deputy collectors and tahsildars (appointed as Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers) will be engaged in these electoral activities.

"Since the field staff, including deputy collectors and tahsildars, serve as officers for both local body elections and assembly electoral roll revision, we request that any planned Special Intensive Revision program be postponed until at least the end of January 2026," the SEC stated.

The SEC had previously communicated its inability to conduct SIR until January 2026 in early September, when the EC was planning a conference of Chief Electoral Officers from across the state.

According to a senior official, the SEC informed the EC that while ward delimitation for zilla parishads and panchayat samitis is complete, the process for municipal corporations, councils, and nagar panchayats will be finished shortly.

After delimitation is completed, officials must then divide the legislative assembly electoral rolls for these local bodies. The actual elections will only take place after these preliminary procedures are finished.

Special Intensive Revision involves completely refreshing electoral rolls through house-to-house enumeration.

During this process, enumerators visit each household to record eligible voters as of a qualifying date, without referencing existing rolls. This is implemented when the EC determines current rolls are outdated, inaccurate, or need complete reconstruction—typically before major elections or following administrative changes like constituency delimitation.

The SIR was implemented in Bihar in June 2025, months before assembly elections, requiring voters to present one of 11 documents to prove eligibility, which drew criticism and legal challenges.

Opposition parties strongly criticized the SIR process in Bihar, claiming it excluded numerous registered voters.