Maharashtra local body election: Bombay HC postpones Dec 3 counting, results now on Dec 21

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday halted the December 3 vote counting for municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats across Maharashtra, issuing an interim order after hearing several petitions that alleged procedural irregularities in the conduct of the elections.

Senior counsel Firdos Mirza, representing the petitioners, was quoted by The Times of India as saying that the court indicated that the entire counting process would now be held on December 21. In a broad directive, the court also barred all exit polls until December 20.

The order comes at a time of heightened tension over the civic body elections, following the Maharashtra State Election Commission’s decision to postpone voting in 24 local bodies—20 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats—after uncovering widespread irregularities.

As per a report by the newspaper, the stay order comes in response to multiple petitions, including one from Warora, where a BJP candidate has challenged the State Election Commission’s (SEC) revised schedule. The Commission had earlier cancelled the election in Ward No. 7 of the Warora Municipal Council but maintained that results for the remaining 13 wards would be announced on December 3.