Ranchi: After a long wait, Jharkhand has announced the schedule for elections to its urban local bodies. Voting in all 48 urban local bodies will take place on 23 February, with counting and results declared on 27 February.
State Election Commissioner Alka Tiwari announced the election schedule during a press conference on Tuesday. Alongside the announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect in all 48 municipal areas from today.
The election process will begin on 4 February 2026, when candidates can start submitting their nomination papers. Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted, and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is fixed as 6 February. On 7 February, election symbols will be allotted to the candidates.
Polling will be held in a single phase across all urban local bodies on 23 February from 7 am to 5 pm. Counting of votes will take place on 27 February, and results will be declared the same day.
These elections will be conducted through ballot papers and on a non-party basis. The commission also clarified that the NOTA (None of the Above) option will not be available in municipal corporation elections, requiring voters to choose from the available candidates.
For the first time in the state, reservations have been made not only for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and women but also for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in all urban local bodies.
The elections will cover 9 municipal corporations, 20 municipal councils, and 19 town panchayats, comprising a total of 1,087 wards across the state.
It is notable that elections in Jharkhand’s urban local bodies have been pending for a considerable period. Thirteen of these bodies have had no elections since 2020, while others, including major corporations such as Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, and Deoghar, have not held polls since 2022.
The state election commissioner assured that adequate security arrangements and deployment of law enforcement personnel have been made to ensure peaceful and smooth conduct of the elections. Observers will also be appointed to oversee the process and ensure compliance with election rules.
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