The Election Commission has announced that the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections will be in two phases, starting November 13. Jharkhand will vote on November 13 and November 20, while Maharashtra will have its election on November 20. The counting of votes for both states is set for November 23.
The Election Commission has revealed dates for some Lok Sabha by-polls, including Kerala’s Wayanad seat. Rahul Gandhi has vacated this seat after winning Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.
In Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena won 161 out of 288 seats. However, disagreements over power-sharing led to the Sena breaking away and forming a government with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress. This coalition government lasted until 2023 when rebellions by Eknath Shinde from the Sena and Ajit Pawar from the NCP forced Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to resign.
In the 2019 Jharkhand elections, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, won 47 out of 82 seats.
Looking Ahead to the 2024 Elections
In the upcoming 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the ruling BJP, now in power with factions that split from Thackeray’s Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, is aiming for a strong performance after a successful general election that saw Narendra Modi re-elected as Prime Minister.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde plans to promote his welfare scheme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, which gives poor women a monthly stipend of ₹1,500, to win over voters. This scheme, which costs ₹46,000 crore a year, has been compared to a successful program in Madhya Pradesh that helped the BJP retain power despite expectations of a Congress victory.
For Congress, the elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are critical after their unexpected loss in Haryana, where they were expected to win.
The party is also facing challenges in Jammu and Kashmir, where the National Conference (NC) can now rely on support from independents, reducing the need for Congress assistance.
In the Haryana elections, Congress started strong but eventually lost to the BJP. The party has raised concerns about issues with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission’s handling of the results.
Following the Haryana defeat, Congress faced criticism from its Maharashtra ally, Thackeray’s Sena faction. An editorial in their party publication criticized Congress for not properly collaborating with alliance partners and for failing to manage local leaders effectively. This was particularly directed at Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda, who reportedly hesitated to cooperate with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and share the campaign stage with other chief ministerial candidates.
