Polling begins in Maharashtra; Voting begins for 38 seats in 2nd phase of Jharkhand assembly polls

Polling began Wednesday morning in the Maharashtra assembly elections, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback.

Voting began in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23.

Over 9.7 crore voters will be choosing from among the 4,136 candidates in the fray, the official said.

In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.

In the opposition’s MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.

Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House.

The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.

The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power.

The BJP's use of slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines.

The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's use of "Batenge toh katenge" and PM Modi's "Ek hai toh safe hai” slogans.

Not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar, distanced himself from them. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.

The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine's rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.

Ahead of the elections, the BJP on Monday launched a new ad campaign attacking the opposition MVA and urging people to "Say No to Congress."

The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar.

The number of candidates this time has increased by 28 per cent compared to the 2019 state assembly elections. This year, 4,136 candidates are contesting, up from 3,239 in 2019.

Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party's official nominees.

As on October 30, the updated number of registered voters stands at 9,70,25,119, officials said.

Among these, there are 5,00,22,739 male voters, 4,69,96,279 female voters, and 6,101 transgender voters. Additionally, the total number of PwD (Persons with Disabilities) voters is 6,41,425, while the number of service voters from the armed forces is 1,16,170.

There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections. This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters.

Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties.

Since the code of conduct came into force on October 15, cash and items worth Rs 252.42 crore were seized in enforcement actions conducted under various schemes of the central and state governments.

The seized items included Rs 63.47 crore cash, along with 34,89,088 litres of liquor valued at Rs 33.73 crore.

Additionally, Rs 32.67 crore drugs were confiscated, along with precious metals valued at Rs 83.12 crore.

Officials also seized 34,634 pieces of jewellery worth Rs 2.79 crore and 8,79,913 miscellaneous items valued at Rs 36.62 crore.

During the same period, 2,469 complaints related to violations of the Model Code of Conduct were received across the state via the C-Vigil app. Of these, 2,452 complaints, amounting to 99.31 per cent, were promptly resolved.

Polling for 38 assembly seats in the second and final phase of Jharkhand elections commenced on Wednesday, amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

Voting began at 7 AM in 14,218 booths across 12 districts and will continue till 5 PM.

However, polling in 31 booths will end at 4 PM though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise, the officials said.

A total of 1.23 crore voters, including 60.79 lakh women and 147 third-gender electors, are eligible to exercise their franchise on Wednesday.

Altogether 528 candidates, including Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri of the BJP, are trying their luck in the second phase of the elections.

Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Today is the second and last phase of the great festival of democracy in Jharkhand. I urge all voters to participate in it enthusiastically and create a new record of voting. On this occasion, I especially congratulate all my young friends who are going to vote for the first time. Your every vote is the strength of the state."

Eighteen of the 38 constituencies are in the Santhal Pargana region comprising six districts - Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur.

The remaining 18 seats are in the North Chotanagpur division and two in South Chotanagpur.

Of the total 14,218 polling stations, the responsibility of the entire voting process at 239 is in the hands of women and 22 are manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs), Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said.

The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc is seeking to retain power riding on its welfare schemes, while the BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is trying to wrest it.

The first phase of elections was held on November 13, and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.