The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand today, a statement issued by the Election Commission on Tuesday said. Election Commission officials have called a press conference at 3.30 pm.
The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections today at 3:30 pm. The preparations have been completed by the commission. It has called a press conference for this. The term of the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly is ending on November 26, which means that the election process should be completed before that. The term of the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly will end on January 5, 2025.
The Election Commission may also announce dates for by-elections on about 50 seats. Wayanad Lok Sabha seat is also included in these. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had won this seat. He also contested from Amethi, where he won. After winning both the seats, he vacated the Wayanad seat. Congress has announced that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be the party’s candidate for the Wayanad seat.
Elections may be held after Chhath
The Election Commission had announced elections for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir in August. It was expected that the commission would also announce Maharashtra assembly elections simultaneously, but this did not happen. It decided to separate the election schedules. Elections in Haryana and Maharashtra were held simultaneously at least three times in the past.
Recently, a team of the Election Commission led by the Chief Election Commissioner visited Jharkhand. Feedback was taken from all the parties regarding the elections. Citing Diwali, Chhath and state formation, the leaders had requested to hold elections after November 15. Chhath Puja is on November 8. There is a possibility that elections may be held after Chhath Puja. It is expected that elections will be held in 2 or more phases in Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
Who is in competition between Maharashtra and Jharkhand?
Maharashtra’s ruling coalition Mahayuti includes BJP, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party. This alliance will compete with Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (NCP-SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand is a part of the India Alliance. The India Alliance will contest the elections against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Apart from the BJP, the NDA includes the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Janata Dal (United).
In how many phases were elections held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand last time
In the year 2019, the last assembly elections were conducted in one phase only. Voting was held on 21 October and the result was declared on 24 October. On the other hand, Jharkhand assembly elections 2019 were conducted in five phases. Voting was held on 30 November for the first phase, 7 December for the second phase, 12 December for the third phase, 16 December for the fourth phase and 20 December for the fifth phase. The commission released the result on 23 December.
