Voting for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election is currently underway. Voting began at 7 a.m. and will last today at 6 p.m., with counting scheduled for November 23.
A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray in 288 Assembly constituencies. To accommodate 9.7 crore registered voters, including 6,101 transgender and 6.41 lakh PwD voters, 1,00,186 polling booths have been installed. Nearly six lakh government employees will supervise the polling.
Part of the Mahayuti, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena, led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, 81, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, 59. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Congress is batting for 101 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95 and NCP (SP) 86.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) are also participating, with the BSP contesting 237 seats and the AIMIM fielding 17 candidates. More than 150 constituencies have rebel candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA alliances.
In this high-octane election, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance is eyeing another term, while the MVA is looking to make a comeback. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won only 9 of the 28 seats it contested, compared to 23 of the 25 seats in the 2019 general elections.
The election saw a high-octane campaign featuring leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Yogi Adityanath and Pawan Kalyan, as well as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Shiv Sena and the NCP, focuses on social programs such as ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin’ for women.
On the other hand, slogans like Batenge toh katenge have remained controversial, with the opposition accusing the BJP of polarizing voters. Ajit Pawar distanced himself from these slogans, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tried to clarify their meaning.
Since the model code of conduct came into effect on October 15, law enforcement agencies have seized cash, alcohol and other items worth 252.42 ₹ crore, including ₹ 83.12 crore in precious metals.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, a turnout of 61.4 percent was reported. The NDA alliance comprising the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena party then won a majority. The alliance, however, broke down due to differences over government formation in the state.
