Pune, 10 January 2026: The Pune's civic body has completed preparations for its long-awaited civic elections. Voting will take place on January 15, and counting of votes will be held on January 16.
Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said that a large-scale administrative and security setup has been put in place to ensure free and fair polling. A total of 4,011 polling stations have been set up across the city, with 14,500 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used on voting day. Each polling station will serve around 800 to 900 voters.
To manage the election process, nearly 26,000 civic employees and more than 4,100 police personnel will be on duty. Election staff have already been trained, and 31 election control rooms have been set up across Pune. The civic body has also prepared 6,500 polling kits and completed printing of all required election material.
So far, the authorities have taken action against poll-related violations. Four serious cases and five minor offences have been registered. During the enforcement of the model code of conduct, officials have seized ₹67 lakh in cash, liquor worth ₹25 lakh, and removed 8,000 illegal flex banners. To monitor violations, 172 special teams have been deployed across the city.
In total, 1,155 candidates are contesting the election. Out of these, two candidates have already been elected unopposed, and their details have been sent to the Election Commission. Voting on January 15 will take place for the remaining 1,153 candidates.
The Yerwada–Gandhinagar ward (Ward 6) has the highest number of candidates at 41, while the Manikbaug–Suncity ward (Ward 35) has the lowest, with just five candidates.
Around 12,000 government employees involved in election duties will cast their votes through postal ballots, for which registration has already been completed.
The city has also made special arrangements to ensure smooth voting. Pune has 906 sensitive polling stations, two women-only polling booths and two model polling booths in each ward, and 15 counting centres. On polling day, 45 ambulances, 860 buses, 250 jeeps, and 434 other vehicles will be in service to support election operations.
With security, logistics, and monitoring systems in place, the PMC administration says the city is fully prepared to conduct the civic elections in an orderly and transparent manner.
