India, Nov. 14 -- Cautious amid protests by opposition parties over alleged irregularities in voter lists, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has extended the timeline for publishing the draft electoral rolls for municipal corporations by a week.

The move is likely to push back the municipal election schedule across major cities, including Mumbai and Thane, by at least seven days. Civic elections in these cities were earlier expected to be held between January 15 and 20.

The SEC has postponed the publication of the ward-wise final voter lists to December 5, from the earlier deadline of November 28. Similarly, the period for filing suggestions and objections has been extended from November 14 to November 28, according to a s...