The election schedule was originally notified on Jan 13 and all major stages — including filing and withdrawal of nominations, allotment of symbols and publication of the final list of candidates — have already been completed. Only polling, counting of votes and notification of the names of elected representatives in the government gazette remained pending.The rescheduling comes amid NCP’s plan to approach SEC seeking postponement of the elections following Pawar’s death. Party leaders said electioneering had come to a complete halt after the tragedy, leaving only three to four effective days for campaigning once the mourning period ended.A senior NCP member told TOI that resuming campaign activity immediately after the loss of a leader of Pawar’s stature was extremely challenging. “The cadre is devastated. There is neither emotional nor organisational readiness to campaign. Ajit Pawar was scheduled to address several rallies in Baramati on Wednesday, and an extensive campaign plan involving star campaigners had been finalised for the districts going to polls,” the politician said. The two-day extension was, however, “not very encouraging”, the politician said.The zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections are being held in 12 districts — five in the Pune division, three in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division and four in the Raigad division. NCP members cited provisions under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti Rules, 1962, to support their demand for a longer postponement. A party official said Rule 11(2)(a) empowered the district collector to alter the polling date in public interest, subject to directions from SEC. The official, however, said a change of only two to three days might not provide meaningful relief.Earlier, SEC had declined to defer the same elections owing to the annual Mayakka temple fair at Chinchali in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, which attracts a large number of devotees from Maharashtra. At the time, the commission cited statutory provisions and logistical challenges linked to board examinations.In a written statement issued earlier this month, SEC stated that the election programme had been finalised strictly in accordance with the 1962 rules. It had pointed out that higher secondary certificate examinations begin on Feb 10, requiring exam centres to be handed over by Feb 8, making further rescheduling administratively difficult.BOX | Revised election scheduleDistrict collectors to issue fresh notifications on January 31Polling on February 7, from 7.30am to 5.30pmCampaigning to end at 10pm on February 5Counting of votes on February 9, from 10amModel code of conduct to be lifted after resultsNames of elected members to be notified in the state gazette by February 11
