More than two crore voters are eligible to participate in the elections, which are being held in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur. A total of 7,438 candidates are contesting across both tiers of local self-government.

In Baramati, Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cast her vote, drawing public attention amid heightened political sensitivity in the region. The polls were originally scheduled for February 5 but were deferred after the state government declared three days of mourning following Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on January 28.

The Zilla Parishad elections are being conducted for 731 seats, with 2,624 candidates in the fray. Of these seats, 369 are reserved for women, 83 for Scheduled Castes, 25 for Scheduled Tribes and 191 for Other Backward Classes, reflecting statutory representation norms.

Simultaneously, elections are underway for 1,462 Panchayat Samiti seats, contested by 4,814 candidates. Reservation applies to 731 seats for women, 166 for Scheduled Castes, 38 for Scheduled Tribes and 342 for Other Backward Classes.

To ensure smooth conduct of polling, the State Election Commission has established 25,471 polling stations and deployed around 1.28 lakh personnel. The electorate comprises over 1.06 crore male voters, more than 1.01 crore female voters and 468 voters registered under other categories. Security arrangements have been tightened, particularly in politically sensitive pockets.

The elections come weeks after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance posted a strong performance in municipal corporation polls held on January 15, winning a majority of seats across 29 civic bodies. The results of the current rural local body elections are expected to offer fresh insights into political alignments ahead of upcoming state-level contests.

Ajit Pawar, who was scheduled to campaign extensively for these polls, died when his chartered aircraft crashed during landing at Baramati airport. The accident claimed five lives, including Pawar, his security personnel, two pilots and a crew member, casting a shadow over the electoral process.