Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assemby elections updates: Altogether 58.43 per cent voters exercised their franchise Wednesday in the assembly elections in Maharashtra, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a comeback. About 68 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 PM on Wednesday in 38 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting in the second and final phase ended, officials said.
According to the Election Commission spokesperson, voters can carry their Voter ID or an approved identification document and ensure their details are correct on the voters’ list to avoid inconvenience. The poll body announced earlier this month that voters can use any of the 12 approved identity proofs, other than the Voter Photo Identity Card (EPIC), to cast their votes.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar cast their votes.
12.71% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in second and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly election. On the other hand, 6.61% voter turnout was recorded in Maharashtra at 9 am.
Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP candidate from Baramati Assembly constituency, Ajit Pawar and NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule cast their votes. NCP has fielded Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and NCP-SCP has fielded Yugendra Pawar from the Baramati Assembly constituency.
Maharashtra and Jharkhand are going to the Assembly polls today. Voting for all 288 seats of the Maharashtra legislative Assembly will take place in a single phase today. Of the 288 Assembly constituencies, 234 seats are categorised as general, while 29 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 25 for Scheduled Tribes (ST). This election will see 4,140 candidates contesting, according to the state chief electoral office. Voting will be held on November 20, 2024, from 7 am to 6 pm across all constituencies. A dry day will be observed in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra during polling hours.
Jharkhand will go for its second phase of assembly elections today with several interesting contests on the anvil across 38 constituencies in 12 districts. The first phase of the Jharkhand polls was held in 43 of 81 assembly seats on November 13. The results for all 81 constituencies will be declared on November 23, alongside those for Maharashtra Assembly elections and bypolls across several states. A total of 528 candidates are in the fray for the 38 seats in this phase, including 55 women and one third-gender candidate and 472 male candidates. Polling will begin at 7 in the morning and will conclude at 5 pm, barring some sensitive polling stations, where voting will conclude at 4 pm. Over 1.23 crore voters, including 61.0 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes.
Counting of votes is set to take place on Saturday and this could set the tone for Parliament’s winter session, which begins on Monday and is scheduled to end on December 20. In both the states, apart from their respective ideological planks, the principal rivals have competed with each other, promising sops and welfare schemes for women, farmers and unemployed youths. The JMM-Congress alliance is hopeful of returning to power with support from women for its government’s monthly allowance scheme of Rs 1,000. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has infiltrated its primary plank. In Maharashtra the BJP is contesting in 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in 59 constituencies. As for the MVA, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates. There are a total 97.02 million electors in Maharashtra.
 "Assembly elections updates: 58.43% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in Maharashtra, 68% in Jharkhand")
