 "Maharashtra elections: Voting in single phase on Nov 20, results on Nov 23")
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday that the Maharashtra Assembly elections will take place on November 20, and the results will be announced on November 23.
The Maharashtra Assembly, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature, consists of 288 members elected from single-seat constituencies. The current political landscape is dominated by two major alliances — the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar, and the Indian National Congress; and the Mahayuti Alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP.
"Out of 288, 234 seats in Maharashtra are general category. There are a total of 96.3 million voters in the state. 25 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 29 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs)," Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner, said.
The total number of voters in Maharashtra is 96.3 million.
Maharashtra Assembly elections: Full schedule
Date of issue of gazette notification: October 22
Last date of making nominations: October 29
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Date for scrutiny of nominations: October 30
Last date for the withdrawal of candidatures: November 4
Date of polling: November 20
Date of counting of votes: November 23
Date before which elections will be completed: November 25
Current Assembly members
The current Assembly was elected in October 2019. The BJP emerged as a dominant party with 105 seats, while the Shiv Sena secured 56 seats. However, political turmoil ensued when Uddhav Thackeray's government was formed under the MVA coalition due to disagreements over power-sharing arrangements with the BJP. Currently in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde leads a coalition government with a total of 205 MLAs in support.
Currently, there are 15 vacant seats in the assembly, which may change with the upcoming elections scheduled later this year.
Key members in Maharashtra Assembly
-Eknath Shinde: Chief Minister from Shiv Sena (Shinde faction)
-Devendra Fadnavis: Deputy Chief Minister (Bharatiya Janata Party)
Recent development
As of October 15, 2024, seven new Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) were sworn in just hours before the Election Commission's announcement regarding the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Assembly elections are expected to take place in the second week of November, as the term of the current Maharashtra Assembly will end on November 26, and the poll process has to be completed before that
The rise of Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra politics
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde and a group of MLAs revolted against Uddhav Thackeray, marking a significant turning point in Maharashtra politics. Shinde expressed dissatisfaction with the MVA alliance. Following this, on June 21, he and several MLAs left for Surat and later to Guwahati, claiming that the MVA was contrary to Shiv Sena's foundational principles.
The political conflict further escalated as Thackeray's faction said that it plans to disqualify Shinde and his supporters for defying party directives. However, Shinde's group successfully petitioned the Governor for a floor test, which led to Thackeray resigning on June 29, 2022, without facing the vote.
Following this, with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister, asserting his faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance
After a meeting on Monday, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that there were no disputes regarding seat allocation among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners and said the alliance will contest all 288 constituencies.
On Sunday, the opposition MVA unveiled a document titled "gaddarancha panchnama" (record of traitors), criticising the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, accusing it of betraying the state's interests in favour of Gujarat.
2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections
In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a majority. However, disagreements over government formation resulted in the dissolution of the alliance. With no party able to establish a government, president’s rule was imposed. On November 23, 2019, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister, with Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister.
Both leaders, however, resigned on November 26, 2019, ahead of the floor test on November 28. This paved the way for the formation of a new alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), with Uddhav Thackeray becoming the Chief Minister.
On June 29, 2022, Uddhav Thackeray stepped down as Chief Minister following a split in Shiv Sena, where a group of MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde, broke away and joined forces with the BJP. As a result, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister, while Devendra Fadnavis assumed the role of Deputy Chief Minister.