Maharashtra Legislative Council Polling Scheduled for October 23

The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the biennial elections to Legislative Councils from the Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituencies in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

For Maharashtra, polling is scheduled for October 23, 2026, with voting to be conducted between 8 am and 4 pm.

The election process will begin with the issuance of the notification on September 29. Candidates will have until October 6 to submit their nominations, while scrutiny of nomination papers is scheduled for the following day.

The deadline for withdrawal of candidature has been fixed for October 9.

Maharashtra MLC Election Process

The upcoming Maharashtra MLC Election 2026 will proceed through the prescribed stages of notification, nominations, scrutiny and withdrawal before voters cast their ballots.

After polling on October 23, the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on October 27.

The Commission has set October 31, 2026, as the deadline for completing the election process.

Graduates' and Teachers' Constituencies 

The election programme covers Legislative Council seats represented through Graduates’ Constituencies and Teachers’ Constituencies in the four states named in the announcement.

The Maharashtra Legislative Council election is therefore part of a wider biennial electoral exercise covering these specified constituencies across Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Model Code of Conduct Comes Into Forces

The Model Code of Conduct for the elections will come into force with immediate effect in the concerned constituencies.

The provision applies to the constituencies covered by the announced election programme.

With the notification scheduled for September 29, the nomination process will be the next major stage of the Maharashtra Legislative Council Election 2026. Candidates and other stakeholders will subsequently move through scrutiny and withdrawal before polling takes place on October 23.

The scheduled counting on October 27 will mark the next stage of the process, with the Commission requiring the election to be completed by October 31.