The World Opinion

Tag: Maharashtra Election 2024

  • Assembly Elections 2024: Congress Announces 4 Candidates For Maharashtra, 2 For Jharkhand Polls |

    NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Monday, announced a combined list of six candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
    The party announced four candidates for Maharashtra and two candidates for Jharkhand. In Maharashtra, the Congress has announced Madhurimaraje Malojiraje Chhatrapati from Kolhapur North, Sajid Khan Mannan Khan from Akola West, Heera Devasi from Colaba and Chetan Narote from Solapur City Central.

    With this, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 102 of 288 Assembly seats. Congress is a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The MVA alliance have declared candidates for 268 seats so far. Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have fielded their candidates on 84 and 82 seats, respectively.

    The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.

    The Congress also released its final list of two candidates for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, fielding Sweta Singh from Bokaro and Ajay Dubey from Dhanbad. With this, the party has declared a total of 30 candidates for the Assembly polls that will be held in two phases next month.

    Earlier, the Congress had declared two lists of 21 and seven candidates in Jharkhand. The Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) alliance has been in power in the eastern state since 2019. Elections for the 81 seats of the Jharkhand assembly in two phases on November 13 and November 20.

    In the previous assembly election, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats, BJP won 25 and Congress won 16 seats. The counting of votes for both elections will be taken up on November 23.

  • Is Congress Losing Credibility Among INDIA Bloc? Allies Take Charge Across Poll-Bound States – Analysis |

    Assembly Elections 2024: Two states are going to elect their next governments – Jharkhand and Maharashtra in the coming weeks. Both of these assembly polls are crucial given the results of the recent assembly elections of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. While Congress lost Haryana to the BJP, it’s sitting outside the government in Jammu and Kashmir. The election results of these two states had put a serious dent in the Congress party’s winnability chances. 

    In Jammu and Kashmir, Congress contested 32 seats but could win only six seats. In Haryana, it contested 89 seats and won just 37 in a direct contest with the BJP. Soon after the election result, the INDIA Bloc was quick to raise questions on the Congress party’s strike rate in a direct contest with the BJP. The seat-sharing agreement between Congress and INDIA bloc allies reflected the fallout of the Haryana and J&K results. 

    Uttar Pradesh Bypolls

    Nine assembly seats are going to the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party were locked in an intense seat-sharing deal. But the Samajwadi Party refused to buzz to the Congress party’s demand and finally, it was decided that the Samajwadi Party would contest all the seats on its own. However, Akhilesh Yadav gave a face-saver to Congress by saying that it’s INDIA Bloc’s united fight.

    Bihar Bye-elections

    In Bihar, where the RJD, Congress and Left parties are part of the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress has again scored a duck. Of the four seats up for bypolls, the RJD is contesting 3 and the CPI-ML has got one. Notably, this comes as the Congress party’s strike rate has been very low in Bihar. In the Bihar assembly elections in 2020, Congress contested 70 seats and managed to win just 19.  

    Jharkhand Assembly Elections

    In Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has given 29 seats to the Congress out of the 80. It’s the only state where Congress has been given a respectable seat share by the allies. However, it again leaves the Congress dependent on the allies for government formation. 

    Maharashtra Assembly Polls

    In Maharashtra, the Congress was trying to contest around 110 seats citing its improved performance in the Lok Sabha polls. However, regional parties like Shiv Sena-UBT and the NCP-Sharad Pawar did not buzz and after marathon meetings, the parties agreed to Shiv Sena-UBT’s proposal of contesting below 100 seats. Now, all three big parties will contest 85 seats each, leaving the rest of the seats for Samajwadi Party, PWP, CPI(M), CPI, and AAP.

    Congress Being Pushed To The Wall

    Once the largest party in the country, Congress is increasingly being pushed to the back seats across big states. INDIA bloc allies are forcing the grand old party either to sit out or sit back when it comes to seat sharing. Be it in West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, the allies took control of the polls by bagging the majority shares of the seats. The same is happening across other states where the Congress has failed to perform in a direct contest against the BJP. While Congress has displayed a maturity by playing second fiddle in these polls, the party will suffer in the long-run as the allies will bcome stronger, leaving less space for Congress.

  • Maharashtra Election 2024: Amid Seat-Sharing Deadlock, Sena-UBT’s ‘Sacrifice’ Message For Congress |

    With stalemate continuing over seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, Shiv Sena-UBT Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has suggested that parties should make a few sacrifices for the betterment of Maharashtra. Giving an example of the Lok Sabha polls where Congress contested more seats, Raut said that this election is about removing a ‘corrupt’ government from Maharashtra.

    Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “We have been in politics for years, every party feels that their workers should be made candidates…Everyone has the right to speak about their role but when it comes to seat sharing, everyone has to make a few sacrifices and take a step back.”

    When asked if Congress is ready to sacrifice and give up a few seats to other allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, Raut says, “This is not about sacrifice, this is about national interest and Maharashtra’s interest…We had indeed shown big-heartedness (during seat sharing for Lok Sabha elections) because we had to defeat enemies of the Constitution. Today, we have to remove from power, a corrupt Government in Maharashtra.”

    Raut said that the seat-sharing talks will be finalised by this evening. The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena-UBT are part of Maha Vikash Aghadi. The assembly elections for the 288 seats will take place on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

    The Congress is keen on contesting around 110 seats while the Sena-UBT is of the view that all three major partners should contest an equal number of seats or at least below 100 to accommodate smaller allies like the Samajwadi Party, Left parties, and the Peasants and Workers Party. 

  • Maharashtra Polls: Number of Total Electors Cross 8.9 Crore With 70 Lakh New Voters |

    MUMBAI: The number of registered voters in Maharashtra has increased by nearly 70 lakh since the 2019 assembly elections, a top poll official said on Wednesday. Assembly elections will be held in the state on November 20. “There were 8,94,46,211 voters in Maharashtra ahead of the 2019 assembly elections. After the special enrollment drives conducted by the election commission, the number has increased to 9,63,69,410, a rise of 69,23,199,” said Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam. 

    A polling booth generally has 1,500 voters, but if there are more voters, additional booths would be set up, he said, speaking to reporters here a day after the election schedule was announced. There were 96,654 polling booths during the 2019 assembly elections, while there would be 1,00,186 booths this time, Chockalingam informed. 

    There are 6,36,278 voters with physical disabilities, while 1,16,355 voters are from the armed forces. The number of first-time voters, those between 18-19 years of age, is 20,93,206, he said. Notably, of 12,43,192 voters above the age of 85 years, as many as 47,716 are centenarians, said Chockalingam. Nearly six lakh state government employees would be roped in for election work, he said. 

    As to how many voters can be inside a polling booth at a time, he said there would be four tables in each booth. “We have issued instructions that three to four voters can be present inside. During the Lok Sabha elections, some officials allowed only one person inside at a time which resulted in delays in voting,” he added.

    On the use of terms such as “vote-jihad” which has communal overtones, Chockalingam said, “The model code of conduct has come into force yesterday. If some leaders tend to use it (such terms), we will not spare anyone. If we receive any complaint, we will check it within the legal framework and submit our report accordingly.” 

    BJP leader and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had two weeks ago blamed “vote jihad” for the BJP’s poor show in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. “Out of 48 Lok Sabha constituencies (in Maharashtra), 14 seats witnessed vote jihad. Hindu religion never disrespected other faiths; tolerance is in our blood. I call for the need to awaken Hindutva if someone is voting for electing anti-Hindu leaders to top posts,” he had said at a public event in Kolhapur.

  • Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 Dates, Phase, Voting Time, Other Details |

    Maharashtra Election Dates 2024: The Election Commission of India announced the dates for the Assembly Polls for Maharashtra on Tuesday. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with the two Election Commissioners – Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu announced the details of the much-awaited election. The legislative assembly of Maharashtra is set to end on November 3. 

    As per the Election Commission of India trends, the 288 legislative assembly seats are likely to go to the polls in single phase. The counting of votes may get concluded before November 26. 

    The Election Commission of India (ECI) reported, the state has 9.63 crore registered voters, with 4.97 crore male voters and 4.66 crore female voters. A total of 52,789 polling stations will be set up, including 39,048 in rural areas and 13,741 in urban areas.

    Maharashtra Assembly Election Full Schedule 2024 

    Nomination Filing Start Date: 22-10-24
    Nomination Filing End Date: 29-10-24 
    Scrutiny of nomination: 30-10-24
    Withdrawal of nomination: 4-11-24
    Voting Date: 20-11-24
    Result Counting Date: 23-11-24

    In 2019, the assembly elections were held on October 21 while the counting of votes was held on October 24. During the last elections, the BJP and then an undivided Shiv Sena had contested the polls together. The BJP had bagged 105 seats while the Sena had got 56 seats. Congress had managed to win 44 seats, and NCP 56 seats.

    However, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance failed to form a government after no consensus was reached over sharing the Chief Ministerial post. Then, Shiv Sena had joined hands with Congress and the undivided NCP to form Maha Vikas Aghadi which ruled the state for around three years. Later, a rebellion in Shiv Sena led by current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde propelled the BJP to power. Subsequently, Ajit Pawar led a rebellion in NCP and joined the ruling Mahayuti coalition as well. 

    The Maharashtra elections 2024 will be a litmus test for Shiv Sena-UBT, Shiv Sena-Shinde faction, NCP-Ajit Pawar faction and NCP-Sharad Pawar.