SEC announces OBC lottery schedule for civic polls

With SC directive to implement OBC reservation before conducting civic polls, SEC on Friday declared the schedule for executing 27% OBC reservation in 13 municipal corporations

PUNE: With the Supreme Court (SC) directing the state election commission to implement other backward castes’ (OBCs) reservation before conducting civic polls and to announce the election programme within two weeks, the state election commission on Friday declared the programme for executing 27% OBC reservation in 13 municipal corporations.

With SC directive to implement OBC reservation before conducting civic polls, SEC on Friday declared the schedule for executing 27% OBC reservation in 13 municipal corporations. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))

The state election commission on Friday asked 13 municipal corporations where elections are slated to be held to announce a lottery for OBCs on July 26 and to conduct the lottery on July 29. The final reservation for the wards will be published on August 5 after completing the suggestions and objections process.

State election commission secretary, Kiran Kurandkar, on Friday issued an order stating, “The reservation for general category women is getting cancelled and local municipal election officers now need to execute the draw for OBC reservation as per the programme announced by the election commission.”

The elections are slated to be held in the Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivali, Kolhapur, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Solapur, Amravati, Akola and Nagpur municipal corporations.

As the state election commission has asked to carry out new draws, many willing candidates are now worried that they may lose their chance to contest the elections. As OBC reservation will be executed in 47 out of the total 173 seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), it is natural that some general candidates will lose their chance to contest the elections.