Voters in Nagpur division headed to the polls on Tuesday for crucial civic elections, only to find the process thrown into significant disarray. The State Election Commission (SEC) issued a corrective order, leading to the withdrawal of a total of 39 seats from the electoral fray. This includes 37 councillor wards and 2 president posts, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and last-minute recalibration.
Reservation Ceilings Breached Across Districts
The core reason for this unprecedented deferral is a widespread breach of the legally mandated 50% ceiling for reservations. Official data reveals a startling fact: 32 out of the 55 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in the Nagpur division exceeded this constitutional limit. This administrative and legal lapse has cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the entire election process.
Every single district within the division—Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha, Gadchiroli, Gondia, and Bhandara—has at least one local body where the reservation cap was violated. The scale of the breach is particularly high in some areas.
Chandrapur district reported the most severe cases, with Ballarpur leading at 61.76% reservation. It was followed by Bhadravati (55.17%), Ghugus (59.09%), Nagbhid (60%), and Bhisi (58.82%).
Nagpur district was not far behind, with Bhiwapur and Mahadula both recording a staggering 70.59% reservation. Kanhan-Pimpari stood at 70%, while Wadi and Digdoha registered 55.56% and 54.17% respectively. In Wardha, Pulgaon breached the cap at 61.90%.
Supreme Court Directive and Procedural Lapses
This issue has reached the highest judicial levels. The Supreme Court, while allowing the elections in Maharashtra to proceed, imposed a critical condition. It ruled that the results for any local body where the 50% reservation limit for SC, ST, and OBC categories is exceeded must be kept in abeyance. This means the results will not be declared until a final court verdict is delivered. Officials state this measure allows the polls to continue while protecting constitutional provisions.
Compounding the reservation crisis are serious procedural errors. The SEC also deferred elections in specific wards due to lapses during the nomination and withdrawal phases. In several instances, returning officers allotted election symbols to candidates prematurely.
This happened even though appeals in district courts were decided after November 22, and the mandatory three-day window for withdrawal was not granted to affected candidates. This rendered the symbol allotment legally invalid, forcing the SEC to cancel polling for these seats. District collectors have now been directed to announce a revised schedule.
Political Impact and the Path Forward
The sudden postponement has forced political parties and candidates into a frantic reassessment of their strategies. Many aspirants have expressed deep concern over the uncertainty clouding their electoral prospects. A senior official clarified that the Model Code of Conduct remains active in the postponed wards and in municipal areas where president posts are affected.
Despite the disruptions, polling in all unaffected wards and local bodies will continue as originally scheduled. Administrative machinery, including voter lists, security deployment, and polling staff, is fully prepared for the ongoing process. The official emphasised that the postponement is confined only to the specifically notified wards and bodies.
The twin challenges of excess reservation quotas and procedural shortcomings are now set to dominate the narrative of these civic elections. They raise fundamental questions about planning and compliance, potentially influencing the approach of political entities not just in the current polls but in future local elections as well. With voter turnout and administrative smoothness under intense scrutiny, authorities are treading cautiously to manage an election process marked by unprecedented last-minute changes.
