MUMBAI, May 19 -- The Election Commission of India (EC) on Monday announced elections to 17 seats of the legislative council to be elected by members of municipal corporations and councils, zilla parishads, nagar panchayats and panchayat samitis. Polling for all 17 seats will be held on June 18, while counting will take place on June 22. Most of these seats, representing 26 districts, are likely to be snapped up by the ruling Mahayuti alliance based on its performance in the recent urban and local bodies. The three Mahayuti constituents collectively won over 67% or 8,032 of the 11,913 seats in the local body elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 4,540 of the 11,913 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena with 1,888 seats and the NCP with 1,604 seats. In comparison, the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi secured 2,195 seats, leaving it with limited prospects of electing representatives to the council. Polls to more than 670 urban and local bodies were delayed due to petitions pending before the Supreme Court over OBC reservation and delimitation. These were eventually conducted between December 2025 and February this year. With local bodies now in place, the EC has announced biennial polls to 16 seats and a by-poll to one seat from the Nagpur local authorities' constituency. The Nagpur seat fell vacant following the resignation of revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule after his election to the legislative assembly. Although elections to 20 of the state's 32 zilla parishads are yet to be conducted due to pending litigation in the Supreme Court, the legislative council elections from local authorities in the respective districts have been announced, as nearly 75% of local bodies are functional. The opposition MVA collectively secured 2,195 seats, with the Congress winning 1,300, the Shiv Sena (UBT) 531 and the NCP (SP) 364. "Although the Congress has won a sizeable number of seats in districts such as Latur and Chandrapur, the party may still struggle to secure a legislative council seat since smaller districts are grouped together for one constituency," said a Shiv Sena leader. "For instance, members of local bodies in Latur, Osmanabad and Beed vote for a single seat." The Sena leader said the ruling allies would lock horns over seat-sharing based on their respective strengths in local bodies....