Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the Supreme Court’s order has paved the way for holding the elections to local bodies with a 27 per cent quota for OBCs.

“The apex court had already directed on May 6 that the local body polls be held as per the OBC quota of 2017. This direction was confirmed today. Now the entire OBC reservation will be implemented in the upcoming polls to local bodies,” Fadnavis told reporters.

He further said the 2022 law of ward delimitation has been scrapped.

State minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal hailed the Supreme Court order dismissing petitions challenging OBC reservation in local body elections and sought the re-implementation of pre-2022 ward structures.

“The top court’s decision removed significant hurdles in the implementation of OBC reservation in local self-governance bodies,” he said.

Addressing the media, Bhujbal stated that the Supreme Court has dismissed several petitions, including one opposing OBC reservation and another seeking the re-introduction of the pre-2022 ward structure.

He stated that these petitions were filed by individuals arguing that there was insufficient empirical data to justify OBC reservation, and that the previous ward structures, established before 2022, should be revived.

“Certain petitioners had argued against OBC reservation, claiming that the empirical data for OBCs was not available. As a result, there was a call to eliminate the reservation in local bodies,” Bhujbal added.

He further stated that, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, elections in 91 local bodies were conducted without OBC reservation.

He said the Supreme Court had instructed the Maharashtra government to provide the required empirical data. However, the report prepared by the Nirgudkar Commission was rejected.

“In response, we established the Bantiya Commission to gather more accurate data. Despite efforts through the Bantiya Commission, the data collected was flawed, leading to a reduction in OBC representation in several regions”, he said.

Citing specific instances, Bhujbal explained that certain surnames, such as “Gaikwad,” were incorrectly classified across multiple communities, leading to a loss of reservation in some areas.

Bhujbal said the apex court in May 2025 ordered that elections would take place with 27 per cent OBC reservation.

“The Supreme Court had previously dismissed petitions that sought to challenge the ward reorganisation and demanded that elections be conducted according to pre-2022 ward structures, specifically for the Ausa Municipal Council in Latur district.

“Today’s ruling reinforced that the elections would proceed based on the newly notified ward/constituency boundaries, ensuring the continuation of OBC reservation. The SC also rejected another petition challenging OBC reservation, reaffirming that elections would proceed as per the May 2025 order, ensuring that the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs remains intact,” the minister said.

He said the apex court also confirmed that ward and constituency restructuring is a state government prerogative, which clears the way for OBC reservation in local self-governance institutions.