Eyebrows raised as Maharashtra NCP leader announces poll dates for local bodies ahead of Election Commission

Pune: Senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil has caused a flutter by announcing the tentative dates of the long-awaited elections to local bodies and municipal corporations in Maharashtra even as the Election Commission has not yet formally declared the schedule.

Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is part of the Mahayuti government headed by the BJP.

He said elections to Zilla Parishads are likely to be held on December 15, while the municipal corporation may go to polls on January 15.

Walse Patil said the Supreme Court had fixed January 31, 2026, as the final deadline for holding the long-pending local body elections.

"As per my information, the Zilla Parishad elections could be held on December 15, and the civic polls on January 15. The entire process of local body and civic elections will be completed before January 31," Walse Patil said in a viral video.