Election

An estimated 65.1% voter turnout was recorded in the Maharashtra assembly elections on Wednesday, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is making a determined bid to retain power and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition is hoping to continue its good showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The figure is the highest voter turnout in the state since 1995 when the state witnessed a turnout of 71.69%, notes Indian Express. The turnout was way above the 61.39% recorded in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha elections this year, and the 61.4% in the 2019 Assembly elections. The Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district recorded a turnout of 69.63% on Wednesday, while Mumbai, the financial capital, saw an estimated 54% turnout. 

Officials noted that poll percentage figures are provisional and may undergo minor revisions once all data is verified. The final voter turnout percentage is expected to be officially announced later today.  Notably, an encouraging trend has been observed in urban constituencies, traditionally known for lower voter participation.

In Jharkhand, where the JMM-led alliance is battling the BJP-led NDA bloc, the turnout was 68.45%. The turnout surpassed the 67.04% voting in 2019, officials said.

Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a narrow victory for the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the Maharashtra Assembly election and a close contest in the Jharkhand election.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti is projected to win around 150 seats, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi may win 125 seats, according to an average of exit poll predictions compiled by NDTV. The half-way mark is at 145 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. In Jharkhand, the BJP-led NDA is projected to win 39 seats, while the I.N.D.I.A bloc is predicted to win 38 seats, according to NDTV’s average of exit polls. This could mean that neither coalition will touch the halfway mark of 41 needed to form the government in the 81-seat Assembly.

Votes for the election to the Legislative Assemblies of both states will be counted on Saturday.

Polling was peaceful on Wednesday as nearly 68% voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in 38 constituencies in Jharkhand where voting for the second and final phase of the assembly elections ended, officials said.

Polling began at 7 AM in 14,218 booths across 12 districts and continued till 5 PM. However, polling in 31 booths ended at 4 PM. People standing in the queue at those hours were allowed to exercise their franchise, the officials 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.

"A voter turnout of 67.59% was recorded till 5 PM. Voting has been peaceful," an Election Commission official said. The highest turnout of 76.16% was reported from Jamtara district, followed by 75.88% from Pakur, 72.46% from Deoghar and 72.01% from Ranchi.

Ramgarh registered a turnout of 71.98%, followed by Dumka 71.74%, Godda 67.24%, Sahebganj 65.63%, Giridih 65.89%, Hazaribag 64.41% and Dhanbad 63.39%.

The lowest turnout was recorded in Bokaro district at 60.97% till 5 PM.

At least five police personnel were suspended and many others removed from poll duty in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday for flouting Election Commission guidelines and stopping electors from casting votes in the ongoing Assembly bypolls, officials said.

The action by the poll authority came amid complaints by Opposition parties, mainly Samajwadi Party that people from a particular community were being prevented from casting vote. SP president Akhilesh Yadav urged the EC to suspend all police officers who are checking voter cards and Aadhaar IDs on basis of video evidence.

Acting on the Commission's directions, district election officers and superintendents of police, after verifying the complaints, have suspended the police personnel for their conduct.

Jharkhand BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday said he had filed a complaint with the Election Commission against a presiding officer for allegedly "favouring a ruling party candidate" in Madhupur Assembly constituency during voting.

Dubey claimed that following his complaint, the officer was arrested.

However, the Deoghar administration said the officer was replaced after being found too close to the voting compartment, which is against Election Commission rules. "I filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the presiding officer at booth number 111 in Madhupur, Deoghar district, for favouring Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate and Minister Hafizul Hassan. The commission took my complaint seriously and arrested the officer," Dubey told reporters in Deoghar.

An official statement from Deoghar administration clarified that the presiding officer at booth number 111 had been replaced.

"During monitoring in the webcasting room, the presiding officer was found too close to the voting compartment, which violates Election Commission rules and demonstrates gross negligence in performing duties," the statement read.

Over 31% of around 1.23 crore voters exercised their franchise till 11 am on Wednesday in 38 Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the second and final phase, officials said.

Polling 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. The ruling JMM-led I.N.D.I.A 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 highest voting turnout of 35.15% was recorded from Pakur, followed by 34.75% in Ranchi, 33.78% in Jamtara and 33.45% in Ramgarh district.

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.

Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 18.14% till 11 am as polling was underway in all 288 Assembly constituencies, election officials said.

Gadchiroli district recorded 30% turnout in the first four hours of voting. Aheri in the district saw 30.6% voting, while Armori Assembly registered 30.75% polling. Mumbai city district recorded 15.78% voting, while that of Mumbai suburban district was 17.99%.

The Colaba Assembly segment in the megapolis registered 13.03% polling, Mahim 19.66% and Worli 14.59%. In Mumbai suburban, Bhandup polled 23.42% votes.

In Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane, the voter turnout was 18.22%.

Maharashtra recorded 6.61% voter turnout till 9 am on Wednesday as polling was underway in all 288 Assembly constituencies of the state, as per election officials.

Gadchiroli district witnessed 12.33% turnout in the first two hours of polling. The Armori Assembly segment in the district registered 13.53% polling. In Mumbai suburban, a 7.88% turnout was recorded. Bhandup and Mulund suburbs saw 10.59% and 10.71% turnout.

Mumbai city recorded 6.25% polling. While Colaba saw 5.35% turnout, Worli recorded 3.78% polling, according to the election officials.

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.

Long Read

The Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on November 20, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback.

Polling will begin in all 288 Assembly seats at 7 am and end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23. 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 Maha Vikas Aghadi (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 BJP is contesting the November 20 elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.

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 number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this time 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. 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.