Elections will be held to 503 village councils in 17 districts of Maharashtra on May 20, a press release from the state government said on Monday.

The terms of these councils expire in June and July. Bye-elections will also be held the same day in some other village councils where they have become due.

According to a schedule announced by state Election Commissioner Yashwant Rajwade, the districts in which these elections will be held are Raigad (175 villages), Sangli (72), Pune (67), Ahmednagar (54), Kolhapur (48), Yavatmal (33), Satara (22), Wardha (9), Dhule (6), Jalgaon (5), Thane (4), Solapur (2), Amravati (2), and Nanded, Latur, Akola and Ratnagiri (one each).

The elections will be notified by the district collectors concerned on April 21. Nominations will be accepted till 3pm on May 5. The nominations will be scrutinized on May 6. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is May 8. The election symbols will be allotted and the list of candidates published the same day.

Voting will take place on May 20 from 8am to 5pm. The votes will be counted and the results declared the same day.

The election code of conduct will remain in force from April 21 to May 27, 2003, in the jurisdiction of the village councils notified.