Nagpur: The State Election Commission (SEC) is set to begin the first phase of local body elections in Maharashtra with zilla parishad (ZP) and panchayat samiti (PS) polls. This will be followed by elections to the municipal corporations and municipal councils. As of July 1, 2025, the total number of registered voters across Nagpur city has risen to 24,84,250 — an increase of 1,00,126 voters since the 2024 state assembly elections. These discussions were part of a high-level preparatory meeting held at the divisional commissionerate on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the SEC’s review process across the state starting from Nagpur division.An agreement has been signed with the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission to procure voting machines. Additionally, 50,000 control units and one lakh ballot units have been requisitioned from the Election Commission of India (ECI). “Officials have been directed to arrange govt warehouses to store the voting machines, inspect all machines before polling, and organise training for poll officers. At a few places, we are a little short of manpower, but that will be rectified in the coming days,” divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari told TOI.At the meeting, municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari presented Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) pre-election arrangements to the SEC. The review meet was chaired by state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, along with divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari, SEC secretary Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner Ajay Charathankar, and deputy commissioner Vijaya Bankar, among others.In Nagpur city, elections will be conducted for 38 prabhags (wards). Of these, 37 wards will elect four members each, and one ward will elect three members. This will result in 151 elected corporators, along with five nominated members, taking the total house strength to 156. The delimitation (prabhag rachana) process for Nagpur city is in its final stages and is expected to be officially notified next week. The reservation policy for the civic polls will follow the 2017 model. The city’s voter base currently includes 12,26,488 male, 12,57,560 female, and 256 other voters. During the last municipal polls in 2017, the total voter count stood at 23,83,014.To accommodate the increase in voters, the number of polling booths in Nagpur city will rise from 2,783 in 2017 to 3,185 in the upcoming election. Voting will be conducted using EVMs. The preparations include 3,470 control units and 13,880 ballot units. A strong room for securing election material will be established at Yashwant Stadium. Approximately 18,000 govt employees will be required for poll duty in Nagpur city alone.Bidari informed that according to the July 1 voter list, there are 40,23,029 registered voters for the ZP polls, for which 6,441 polling stations have been proposed. To facilitate the voting process, 7,280 control units and 16,288 ballot units will be deployed. For the 55 nagar parishads and nagar panchayats in the division, there are 18,12,167 registered voters. The district administration has proposed 2,378 polling stations for these local bodies and has begun preparations for their elections.The SEC has instructed officials to ensure that polling stations are adequately equipped to handle the increased voter turnout. Facilities should be accessible for disabled voters, and provisions must be made to create model and pink polling stations. The SEC has also mandated that the voter list dated July 1, 2025, be used to divide polling stations and streamline arrangements. SEC secretary Suresh Kakani emphasised appointing a divisional-level coordination officer to ensure smooth planning and distribution of electronic voting machines, proper manpower management, and uniformity in equipment deployment as per poll requirements.
