‘Mini assembly’ polls kick off

MUMBAI: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced elections for 212 municipal councils that govern small cities. With this, the SEC has initiated five-month

MUMBAI: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced elections for 212 municipal councils that govern small cities. With this, the SEC has initiated five-month long elections to local self-government bodies governing cities (municipal corporations and councils) and rural areas (zilla parishads or district councils) Considering that the elections would be held across the state, it is being touted as ‘mini assembly’ elections and test of the popularity of the first BJP-led government in the state Elections for 212 municipal councils and nagar panchayats will be held in four phases between November 27, 2016 and January 8, 2017. The code of conduct in 33 districts comes into force with immediate effect Candidates, for the first time, will be able to file their nominations and asset declaration affidavits online The votes will be counted on the day after the polls The following stages of the elections would include 10 cities including Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik as well as ZPs which are traditionally controlled by the Congress-NCP. The four prominent parties in the state— BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP—are locked in a bitter tussle to win maximum local government bodies and prepare for the 2019 assembly polls.

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