Bombay High Court Delays Maharashtra Local Body Election Results to December 21

Court Postpones Election Results

On Tuesday, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court announced a delay in the counting of votes and the announcement of results for municipal council, nagar parishad, and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, moving the date from December 3 to December 21.

This decision was made while voting was taking place for 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state.

Previously, the State Election Commission had postponed elections in 24 local bodies to December 20 due to irregularities concerning withdrawal timelines and symbol allocation.

A division bench comprising Justices Anil S Kilor and Rajnish R Vyas expressed concerns that announcing results in phases could significantly affect voter behavior and the outcomes of the subsequent election rounds. The court mandated that results for all phases be declared simultaneously.

Additionally, the bench ordered that the Model Code of Conduct remain active until the results are announced and prohibited any exit polls until December 20.

This ruling was issued in response to at least ten petitions advocating for the simultaneous declaration of results for the local body elections.

The petitioners contended that separate announcements for each phase could undermine the integrity of the electoral process, arguing that it would create an uneven playing field for candidates.

They highlighted that the phased results could lead to a two-tier electoral system within the same municipal council, giving an unfair advantage to candidates in remaining wards based on already declared results.

Similar petitions have been lodged with the Aurangabad Bench and the Kolhapur Circuit Bench of the High Court, although no decisions have been made in those cases yet.