ECI To Announce Maharashtra, Jharkhand Poll Schedule Today

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to announce the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on Tuesday.

A press conference has been scheduled for 3:30 PM at the Plenary Hall of Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi to announce the election timetable.

The term of the Maharashtra Assembly concludes on November 26, while the Jharkhand Assembly's term will end on January 5, 2025.

In Maharashtra, the elections are expected to feature a two-way contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, and the ruling Mahayuti Alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

In the recent parliamentary elections, the BJP-led Mahayuti Alliance secured just 17 out of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP's share dropping to 9 seats from 23 five years ago. In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition won 30 seats. The BJP formed the government with the undivided Shiv Sena in 2019, but the alliance later fractured amidst political turmoil. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, while Congress secured 44 seats.

In Jharkhand, elections are anticipated for the 81-member legislative assembly, which includes 44 General, 9 Scheduled Caste (SC), and 28 Scheduled Tribe (ST) constituencies. The assembly term expires on January 5, 2025, and elections are expected to be conducted by December 2024. A delegation from the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, conducted a review of the election preparedness in Jharkhand on September 24, urging enforcement agencies to mitigate the influence of money in politics.

In the 2019 elections, Jharkhand held polling in five phases, while Maharashtra conducted the elections in a single phase.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari expressed confidence in the party's prospects, stating, "The BJP and NDA are fully prepared for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections. We believe that like Haryana, Maharashtra will vote for a pro-incumbency government led by the BJP." He added that the people of Jharkhand are frustrated with the current government's "vote bank politics" and are eager for a "pro-development, pro-tribal government under the BJP."

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