Maharashtra Zilla Parishad elections postponed to February 7: SEC

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has postponed the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, which were to be held on February 7 instead of February 5.

“Since three days of mourning has been declared in the state due to the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the remaining phases of general elections for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis will be held on February 7, while the counting of votes will be held on February 9,” the SEC said.

The State Election Commission had announced the poll schedule for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections on January 13. Accordingly, the process of submission of candidacy documents, withdrawal of candidacy documents, allocation of symbols and publication of the final list of candidates to participate in the elections has been completed. The next steps are voting, counting the votes and publishing the names of the elected members in the Gazette.

According to the SEC, the Supreme Court allowed these elections to be extended by two weeks beyond January 31; However, due to the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on January 28, 2026, the State Government declared mourning in the state from January 28 to January 30. As a result, changes were made in the remaining phases of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti election programme.

The concerned district collector will issue the revised election schedule notification on January 31 and the public campaign will end at 10 pm on February 5. After the results are announced, the model code of conduct will end. The names of the elected members will be published in the Government Gazette until February 11.