Maharashtra by-election: Voting for five seats to be held on March 27

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The voting for five seats of Maharashtra by-election will be held on March 27, the Election Commission announced on Monday, reported the PTI.

The Notification for the by-elections will be issued on March 10 and the last date of filing of nominations by candidates is March 17.

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The last date of scrutiny of nominations is March 18, while candidates can withdraw from the contest on March 20. If needed, voting will take place on March 27 with the MLAs forming the electoral college.

According to the Election Commission, the by-elections are slated for March 27 and they were necessitated due to the victory of five sitting MLCs in the November 2024 assembly polls.

Three of the MLCs who have entered the assembly were from the BJP, followed by the Shiv Sena and the NCP (one each). All three parties are constituent of the ruling Mahayuti coalition.

The byelections of the MLCs are from the MLA quota in the 288-member legislative assembly.

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra is comfortably placed to win all five vacant seats in the Legislative Council, by-election schedule for which was announced on Monday, as per the PTI.

The BJP has 132 MLAs, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41, making them comfortably placed to win all the five seats which are up for grabs, given their dominating presence in the lower house.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Budget Session 2025 began on Monday and on the first day of the budget session, supplementary demands worth a total of Rs 6,486.20 crore were presented in the state legislative assembly. Of these, Rs 932.54 crore pertains to compulsory demands, Rs 3,420.41 crore to programme-related demands, and Rs 2,133.25 crore to amounts under Centrally-sponsored programmes.

While the total supplementary demands stand at Rs 6,486.20 crore, the actual net burden is Rs 4,245.94 crore.

The Opposition parties in Maharashtra had announced on Sunday that they would boycott the customary tea party on the eve of the assembly's budget session,, citing the government's failure to address multiple pressing issues.

They expressed concerns over the inclusion of "tainted" ministers in the cabinet, the rise in crimes against women, and statements from ruling party leaders about withholding funds from constituencies that elected opposition lawmakers.

(with PTI inputs)