The Nagpur Municipal Corporation election, 2026 is an election of members to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation which governs Nagpur, the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The election will take place on 15 January 2026 and the counting will take place on 16 January. [1] [2]
This election is being held after a gap of nine years. The previous election was carried out in 2017, when the elections were fought across 38 prabhags, increasing the house strength to 151. [3] There was a delay in conducting the elections due to an imbroglio over OBC reservation. For three years, the city was governed without an elected body, being run by bureaucrats. This led to deteriorating civic and municipal services in the city. [4] The Supreme Court of India directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to conduct overdue municipal and local body elections, issuing notifications within four weeks and completing the process by 31 January 2026, with no further extensions. The Court also ordered restoration of OBC reservation as it existed prior to July 2022 and mandated delimitation of wards by 31 October 2025. [5]
The city has been divided into 38 prabhags (wards), with four members each; except prabhag number 38. [6]
Fifty percent of the seats are reserved for female candidates through a reservation draw held on 11 November 2025. [7] Seventy-six female candidates and 75 male candidates will contest this election. In the past, it had been observed that many sitting corporaters fielded their wives, mothers or other female family members in a newly reserved seat in order to retain power by proxy, which has drawn criticism. [8]
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