Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly elections, bypolls: The Election Commission of India (ECI) completed its all arrangements for voting in the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on Wednesday (November 20). The poll body also accomplished its preparations for the bypolls in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The votes will be counted on November 23.
MVA vs Mahayuti in Maharashtra
The Maharashtra assembly elections will be held on November 20, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback.
Polling will begin in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and end at 6 pm, an election official said. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.
The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power.
"Batenge toh katenge" echoed during BJP's campaing
The BJP's use of slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's use of "Batenge toh katenge" and PM Modi's "Ek hai toh safe hai” slogans.
Not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar, distanced himself from them. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.
The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine's rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.
BJP contested on 149 seats in Maharashtra
The BJP is contesting the November 20 elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.
Congress nominated 101 candidates in Maharashtra
The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates. Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House. The number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this time compared to the 2019 state assembly elections.
4,136 candidates are contesting in Maharashtra
This year, 4,136 candidates are contesting, up from 3,239 in 2019. Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party's official nominees. As on October 30, the updated number of registered voters stands at 9,70,25,119, officials said.
Among these, there are 5,00,22,739 male voters, 4,69,96,279 female voters, and 6,101 transgender voters. Additionally, the total number of PwD (Persons with Disabilities) voters is 6,41,425, while the number of service voters from the armed forces is 1,16,170.
There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections. This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters. Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties. Since the code of conduct came into force on October 15, cash and items worth Rs 252.42 crore were seized in enforcement actions conducted under various schemes of the central and state governments.
Stage set for final phase of Jharkhand elections
Jharkhand is geared up for polling in 38 of the total 81 assembly seats in the second and final phase when the electoral fate of 528 candidates, including Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren both (both JMM) and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP) will be decided.
INDIA vs NDA in Jharkhand
The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are engaged in a fierce battle in the elections in the state, the first phase of which was held on November 13. Polling is scheduled to begin at 7 am in 14,218 polling stations and will continue till 5 pm barring 31 booths where it will end at 4 pm.
1.23 crore voters in Jharkhand
A total of 1.23 crore voters including 60.79 lakh women and 147 third gender voters are eligible to vote on Wednesday. Altogether 528 candidates - 472 men, 55 women and a third gender person - are in the fray.
The JMM-led coalition is seeking to retain power riding on its welfare schemes, while the saffron party has raised the election pitch raising the issues of Hindutva, “infiltration from Bangladesh and corruption” of the current dispensation.
Eighteen of the 38 constituencies are in the Santhal Pargana region comprising six districts - Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur. The NDA has been alleging during electioneering that large-scale infiltration took place in Santhal Pargana during the past five years of the JMM-led regime.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting have been completed and polling personnel for all the booths have been despatched peacefully.
Out of the 38 seats, eight are reserved for scheduled tribes and three for scheduled castes. Of the total 14,218 polling stations, the responsibility of the entire voting process at 239 polling stations will be in the hands of women while 22 booths will be manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs), the CEO said.
Besides CM Soren and his wife, prominent among the candidates include state BJP president and ex-CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM) and BJP ally AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto.
Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP present JP Nadda and chief ministers of several states addressed a number of rallies where they attacked the JMM-led coalition over corruption and infiltration.
INDIA bloc leaders including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his wife and legislator Kalpana Soren campaigned extensively, promising welfare schemes and accusing the BJP-led Centre of "unleashing" ED and CBI against the rival parties.
Bypolls in 15 seats in 4 states
Bypolls in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand will be held on Wednesday. The results of the bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad.
This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2022 assembly polls, Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki were won by the SP, while the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair.
The Meerapur seat was won by BJP ally RLD.
Bypolls will also be held in four assembly seats -- Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala -- in Punjab.
The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Of the four assembly segments, Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Chabbewal were earlier held by the Congress, and the Barnala seat by the AAP.
Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in the fray. A total of 6.96 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
The bypolls will decide the fate of key contestants, including BJP nominee and former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Congress's Amrita Warring, Jatinder Kaur, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, Dr Ishank Kumar Chabbewal and BJP's Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon.
Amrita Warring is the wife of Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
The bypoll in Palakkad was necessitated after the Congress MLA of the constituency, Shafi Parambil, got elected to the Lok Sabha from the Vadakara constituency.
The Kedarnath seat fell vacant after the death of sitting BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat in July. Both the candidates, BJP's Asha Nautiyal and Manoj Rawat of Congress, have represented the Kedarnath assembly seat in the past.
Nautiyal won it in 2002 and 2007 as a BJP candidate. Shaila Rani Rawat won it in 2012 on a Congress ticket. She contested the seat as a BJP nominee in 2017 and lost to the Manoj Rawat. However, she wrested the seat from Rawat in 2022.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: Maharashtra Polls: BJP leader Vinod Tawde accused of distributing cash, FIR filed
