Voting commenced on Thursday morning for elections to 12 Maharashtra legislative council seats from local authorities' constituencies, with polling continuing until 4 pm. According to reports from PTI, members of local self-government bodies, including municipal corporations, municipal councils and zilla parishads, are eligible to cast their votes between 8 am and 4 pm. The elections were originally notified for 17 seats, but contests are being held in only 12 constituencies as candidates of the ruling alliance have already been elected unopposed in five seats. Votes will be counted on June 22 at district collectorate premises across the state.
The Mahayuti alliance has already secured uncontested victories for five seats before the current elections. As reported by PTI, the alliance comprises the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led NCP. The unopposed victories include BJP's Arun Lakhani from the Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli constituency, NCP nominees Vikram Kakade from Pune and Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, and Shiv Sena candidates Ravindra Phatak from Thane and Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal. The ruling alliance also benefited from strategic withdrawals by opposition candidates, with Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Bal Mane withdrawing from the Konkan constituency, NCP (SP) nominee Shrikant Patil withdrawing in Pune, and Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Deoyani Patil Dongaonkar leaving the Aurangabad-Jalna constituency. Congress candidates Shailesh Agrawal and Sahebrao Kamble also withdrew from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli and Yavatmal constituencies respectively, contributing to Mahayuti's uncontested wins.
The Satara-Sangli constituency has emerged as one of the most closely watched contests, with the BJP fielding Dhairyasheel Kadam and the Opposition NCP (SP) nominating Abhaysinh Jagtap. According to PTI, this constituency witnessed unease within the ruling alliance after sections of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena expressed reservations over the seat-sharing arrangement. Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai had stayed away from a Mahayuti coordination meeting and later said he repeatedly attempted to coordinate among alliance partners during municipal and district council elections, but did not receive cooperation from BJP ministers. Speculation over a split in alliance votes subsided after Shiv Sena rebel Tanajirao Patil withdrew from the contest, resulting in a direct fight between Kadam and Jagtap. The ruling alliance is attempting to prevent the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from gaining ground in these remaining 12 constituencies.
The ruling alliance faced significant challenges in Nashik after BJP leader Gokul Gite entered the fray as an Independent against Mahayuti's official nominee Narendra Darade of the Shiv Sena. As reported by PTI, Gite's candidature stemmed from dissatisfaction among a section of BJP leaders over the allocation of the seat to the Shiv Sena and local-level grievances against Darade. The development prompted intervention from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde, BJP minister Girish Mahajan, Shiv Sena cabinet member Uday Samant and other senior leaders. Mahajan took the lead in negotiations and held several rounds of discussions with the rebel camp in Nashik and Mumbai. The efforts eventually succeeded, with Gite halting his campaign after talks with senior leaders, though his name remains on the ballot as the deadline for withdrawal had already expired. The ruling alliance also faced additional challenges in the Amravati constituency, where Congress candidate Harshjit Deshmukh cited health reasons for his withdrawal, while senior Congress leader Yashomati Thakur alleged he had been "managed" by rival parties.
Counting of votes is scheduled for June 22 at district collectorate premises across Maharashtra, according to PTI. In Nanded, 452 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, with polling centres established at revenue subdivision headquarters across the district. Of the 452 eligible voters, 224 are women and 228 are men. The electorate comprises all members of the Nanded-Waghala Municipal Corporation as well as presidents and members of municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the district. The largest polling centre will be at the Nanded tehsil office, where 108 voters will cast their votes, while other polling stations will cater to voters from municipal councils and nagar panchayats in their respective jurisdictions. In Osmanabad-Latur-Beed constituency, 367 voters are eligible to cast their votes, with polling arranged at designated centres across all tehsils of the district. BJP candidate Basavaraj Patil Murumkar and Congress nominee Mahesh Deshmukh are contesting this seat. The Opposition has alleged that money power and political pressure played a role in securing withdrawals by candidates in several constituencies, a charge rejected by leaders of the ruling alliance.
