The Election Commission of India (ECI) has confirmed that the biennial election for 11 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council is scheduled for July 12. These seats, currently held by Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), are set to conclude their 6-year tenure on July 27 upon retirement.
According to an EC notification, the election to fill the vacancy will be officially announced on June 25. Following this, candidates will be able to submit their nominations, with the deadline for filing set on July 2. The scrutiny of these nominations is scheduled for the following day.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is July 5. If required, polling will be held on July 12 between 9 am and 4 pm, and counting of votes will start at 5 pm the same day, according to the notification. The biennial election to the upper house of the state legislature is being held just months ahead of assembly polls which are due in October.
This upcoming Council election in Maharashtra marks a significant milestone as it will be the first since the vertical split within the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena asserts the backing of 39 MLAs, whereas Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's NCP claims the support of 41 members in the 288-member assembly.