The terms of Gujarat’s eight municipal corporations officially ended on Monday, leading to the appointment of administrators to manage these civic bodies. Polling across all 18 corporations is anticipated by the end of April, with government sources indicating that elections should occur before May.
Once the official notification is issued, candidates will have a two-week window to file their nominations. Voting is expected to follow shortly after, possibly later in April. This notification could come soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gujarat around March 30, where he’s set to address a public gathering in Vav-Tharad district
This year marked a significant change with administrators taking charge while electoral rolls underwent a Special Summary Revision. With this revision complete, upcoming elections will utilize an updated voter list.
Additionally, nine new municipal corporations—Vapi, Anand, Navsari, Surendranagar-Dhudrej-Wadhwan, Mehsana, Morbi, Gandhidham, Nadiad—will contest voters for the first time since their establishment last January.
As part of seat rotations ahead of these elections, notable changes will affect Ahmedabad’s ward structure; general category seats will decrease from 76 to 59 while OBC representation rises significantly to 53 seats. Women are guaranteed at least 96 reserved seats alongside provisions for SC and ST communities as well.
This reshuffling could leave many current councillors without a seat come election day as wards such as Ghatlodiya and Thaltej may undergo substantial changes.