Voting for 2,359 gram panchayats and 130 vacant sarpanch posts underway in Maharashtra, results tomorrow

The gram panchayat elections in Maharashtra hold importance, especially in the middle of intense political rivalry between political parties.

The counting of votes will be held on November 6. (Representational)

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Polling for 2,359 gram panchayats began in Maharashtra on Sunday in the first elections after NCP leader Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP-Shiv Sena government.

Elections are being held for 2,950 posts of gram panchayat members and 130 directly elected sarpanch from 2,068 gram panchayats in the state which stand vacant due to reasons such as disqualification, death, resignation etc.

The counting of votes will be held on November 6.

The gram panchayat elections in Maharashtra are not fought on any election symbol. However, these hold importance, especially in the middle of intense political rivalry between political parties and local leadership where local-level alliances are formed and broken.

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The Maharashtra gram elections also mean an opportunity for the Nationalist Congress Party, to reorganise its cadre divided into two groups, following the rebellion of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar against his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. For the NCP, which is mainly known as a party with a large rural base, these gram panchayat elections would give a chance to Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar to test the waters ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

For Shiv Sena, which is also a divided house, the village-level elections mean an opportunity to unite its workers to ensure the victory of like-minded panels. BJP and Congress workers will also see this as a warm-up match before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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