Maharashtra, Jharkhand election dates to be announced today

Today at 3.30 pm, the Election Commission will announce the schedule of Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Political stir has intensified regarding the dates of elections in both the states, and the commission has finalized its preparations. On this occasion, the Election Commission has organized a press conference, in which apart from the assembly elections of Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the dates of by-elections can also be announced.

Term of Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assemblies

The term of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, which has a total of 288 seats, is ending on 26 November 2024. This means that the election process must be completed before November. At the same time, the term of 81 seats of Jharkhand Assembly will end on 5 January 2025.

Announcement of by-elections

The Election Commission can also announce the dates of by-elections on about 50 seats. These include the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which is very popular. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad and Amethi in the 2019 general elections, but later he left the Wayanad seat. Now the Congress has announced that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from the Wayanad seat, making this election particularly interesting.

Possibility of elections after Chhath

Recently the Election Commission had announced the election schedules for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, and it was then expected that the dates for the Maharashtra assembly elections would also be announced simultaneously, but this did not happen. This time the Commission decided to keep the election schedules separate. The last three times, elections were held simultaneously in Haryana and Maharashtra, but this time the election dates will be different.

Last week, the Election Commission team led by the Chief Election Commissioner visited Jharkhand and took feedback from all political parties. Many parties had requested to hold elections after Diwali, Chhath Puja and State Foundation Day (November 15). Chhath Puja is on November 8 in Jharkhand, and it is expected that elections will be held after that. It is expected that elections will be held in two or more phases in both Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Political contest: Who against whom?

In Maharashtra, the main contest will be between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction). At the same time, the Maha Vikas Aghadi includes Congress, Sharad Pawar's NCP (NCP-SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). This election has taken the form of a big political battle in Maharashtra, where the role of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray is considered important in the politics of the state.

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) alliance in Jharkhand is part of the opposition India Alliance, which will contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The NDA includes the BJP along with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Janata Dal (United). This election in Jharkhand will be an important challenge for the ruling JMM, where in the last elections, the JMM defeated the BJP and gained power.

2019 Elections: A Glance

The 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections were held in a single phase. Voting took place on October 21, 2019, and the results were declared on October 24. The Jharkhand Assembly elections 2019 were held in five phases. Voting took place between November 30 and December 20, and the results were declared on December 23. This time too, elections in Jharkhand are likely to be held in multiple phases.