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Supreme Court Lets Maharashtra Local Polls Proceed, Bars New Reservations Over 50%

A three-judge bench will take up the OBC quota dispute on January 21, 2026, leaving select outcomes contingent on its ruling.

Overview

  • Voting on December 2 for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will go ahead, with results in 40 councils and 17 nagar panchayats where the quota breaches 50% kept subject to the final verdict.
  • The State Election Commission is restrained from notifying reservations above the 50% cap in bodies yet to be announced, though it may initiate processes that comply with the ceiling.
  • Municipal corporation elections are to be notified without delay, with only Nagpur and Chandrapur reported as crossing 50% and all outcomes remaining subject to the court’s decision.
  • Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls will proceed where combined reservation stays within 50%, as the SEC reworks maps and quotas in affected districts and targets corporation polls in late January or early February.
  • The order enforces the Supreme Court’s ‘triple-test’ and 50% ceiling framework challenged in petitions over the Banthia Commission’s OBC data, after years of delayed polls and administrator-run local bodies.