NDA and I.N.D.I.A bloc locked in tight fight as voting begins across Maharashtra, remaining Jharkhand seats
The Hindu, Indian Express, PTI
Voting began at 7 am today for the single-phase Maharashtra Assembly elections and will conclude at 6 pm. Polling is taking place across 288 Assembly constituencies.
In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti coalition—led by the trio of Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), and Ajit Pawar (NCP)— will face off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar). All eyes are on the family feud in Baramati, where Deputy CM Ajit Pawar battles his own nephew, Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP). Meanwhile, in Nagpur South West, Fadnavis is locking horns with Congress’s Prafulla Gudhade, and CM Shinde is fighting to hold onto his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat against Anand Dighe from Sena (UBT).
In Jharkhand, polling is underway for 38 assembly seats in the second and final phase of elections. Voting began at 7 am across 12 districts and will continue till 5 pm. Here, the ruling JMM-Congress alliance is battling against the BJP and its local ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP). Chief Minister Hemant Soren is set to clash with BJP’s Gamaliel Hembrom in Barhait, while his wife, Kalpana Soren, aims to win against BJP’s Muniya Devi in Gandey.
The Dhanwar seat is also critical as former CM Babulal Marandi of the BJP takes on CPI(ML)L’s Rajkumar Yadav. Additionally, in Jamtara, Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of political heavyweight Shibu Soren, seeks to unseat Congress’s Irfan Ansari.
In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti coalition—led by the trio of Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), and Ajit Pawar (NCP)— will face off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar). All eyes are on the family feud in Baramati, where Deputy CM Ajit Pawar battles his own nephew, Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP). Meanwhile, in Nagpur South West, Fadnavis is locking horns with Congress’s Prafulla Gudhade, and CM Shinde is fighting to hold onto his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat against Anand Dighe from Sena (UBT).
In Jharkhand, polling is underway for 38 assembly seats in the second and final phase of elections. Voting began at 7 am across 12 districts and will continue till 5 pm. Here, the ruling JMM-Congress alliance is battling against the BJP and its local ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP). Chief Minister Hemant Soren is set to clash with BJP’s Gamaliel Hembrom in Barhait, while his wife, Kalpana Soren, aims to win against BJP’s Muniya Devi in Gandey.
The Dhanwar seat is also critical as former CM Babulal Marandi of the BJP takes on CPI(ML)L’s Rajkumar Yadav. Additionally, in Jamtara, Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of political heavyweight Shibu Soren, seeks to unseat Congress’s Irfan Ansari.