In the aftermath of ex-MLA Baba Siddique’s killing just days ahead of poll announcement, CEC says strict instructions have been issued to ensure no such incident involving any political party candidate is allowed to happen

Single phase polling in Maharashtra on Nov 20 and two-phase polling in Jharkhand, results on Nov 23 after Diwali festivities

X: @prashanthamine

New Delhi: Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20 to elect its 288-member 14^th Legislative Assembly. Whereas, Jharkhand will go to polls in two-phases on November 13 and November 20 to elect its new 81-member Legislative Assembly. Counting of votes and declaration of results will be held and done on November 23. With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has kicked-in in both the states.

Announcing the election schedule, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Election Commission of India (ECI), Rajiv Kumar also added that by-elections will also be held for 48 Assembly constituencies on 2 Parliamentary constituencies spread across 15 states’ along with the two-phased Jharkhand assembly elections.

The term of the 288 member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is to end on November 26. Whereas, the term of 81 member Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is to end on January 5, 2025.

Replying to a query upon the recent killing of former Congress MLA and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Ajit Pawar faction leader Baba Siddique, CEC Rajiv Kumar stated that strict instructions have been issued to the state authorities in both the states to ensure that no such incident involving any political party candidate is allowed to happen and ensure that free and fair polls are held.

As per the poll schedule announced by the ECI on Tuesday, the Gazette Notification for the polls for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra will be issued on October 22, Last date for making Nominations is October 29, Scrutiny of Nomination Papers will be taken up on October 30, Last date for Withdrawal of Nomination Papers is November 4, Date of Polling is November 20, Counting of votes and declaration of results will be held and done on November 23. The entire process of conducting the elections will be completed by November 25.

The by-election to the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency which fell vacant due to the demise of sitting Congress MP Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan will be held along with the Assembly elections in Maharashtra on November 20.

The tribal state of Jharkhand goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and November 20, 43 assembly constituencies on November 13 and 38 assembly constituencies on November 20. CEC Rajiv Kumar disclosed that the number of phases in which polling used to be held for assembly elections in Jharkhand has been brought down from 5 phases in 2019 to just 2 phases now.

Commenting upon the recent mismatch in poll results and controversy over Exit Polls going horribly wrong in recent Haryana assembly elections, CEC Rajiv Kumar called for self-introspection by all the stake-holders. He added that the ECI has no control over Exit Polls conducted before it announces the poll schedule.

In respect to the mis-match in election results announced by the ECI and by the electronic media in particular, he clarified that the ECI goes by the laid down procedures of tabulating the votes and declaration of the phase-wise tally at regular fixed intervals and called for a discussion on self-regulation by all the stakeholders.

Replying to queries over the latest charge from the Congress regards to the battery-pack of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and equating them with the tampered Pagers that blew-up in West Asia, CEC Rajiv Kumar remarked that unlike Pagers, EVMs cannot be tampered with.

He further elaborated, stating that before any polls the First Level Checking (FLC) of the EVMs, Balloting Units and VVPATs takes place 6 months before the actual poll date. At each and every step of checking and mock polls the verification and signatures of political parties and their candidates is obtained. He added that signatures are even obtained for the charged battery that is inserted in the EVM in the presence of representatives and polling agents of political parties and their candidates.

Responding to the controversy over the identification of female voters from minority communities, CEC Rajiv Kumar clarified that the provisions for establishing the identity of women voters has been laid down in Rule 34 and Rule 35 of the Conduct of Election Rules taking into account the religious and cultural aspects of the particular states going to polls.

Commenting upon the poor turnout amongst urban voters in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and other major urban cities in Maharashtra during the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections, CEC Rajiv Kumar urged the voters to shed their apathy and turn out in large numbers and go out on a holiday. He pointed out that the polling date has deliberately been kept on a working day on Wednesday.

As per the poll schedule announced by the ECI on Tuesday, all the 288 assembly constituencies will go to polls in a single phase on November 20. Of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, 29 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) candidates and 25 seats for Schedule Tribes (STs) candidates, while the remaining 234 seats are General/Open category seats. In Jharkhand, out of the 81 seats, 9 seats are reserved for (SCs) and 28 seats are reserved for ST candidates, while the remaining 44 seats are General/Open category seats.

The total electors in Maharashtra are 9,64,85,765 crore, out of which First Time Voters (FTVs) (18 to 19 years age group) are 20, 93, 206, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters are 6,36,278, Third Gender voters – 6,031 and Senior Citizens in 85 years Plus category are 12,43,197 voters. Polling will be held at 1,00,186 Polling Stations across the state.

The total electors in Jharkhand are 2,60,87,698 crore, out of which First Time Voters (18 to 19 years age group) are 11,84,150, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters are 3,67,825, Third Gender voters – 448 and Senior Citizens in 85 years Plus category are 1,13,970 voters. Polling will be held at 29,562 Polling Stations across the state.

As per the 2019 Legislative Assembly elections, the Alliance-wise strength in the 288 member Maharashtra legislature is as follows –

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led ruling Mahayuti (202) – BJP 105, NCP-AP 40, Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction 38, BVA 3, Others 19.

Congress led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) (71) – Congress 37, Shiv Sena UBT faction 16, NCP Sharad Pawar faction 12, Samajwadi Party 2, CPI-M 1, PWPI 1 and Others 3.

As per the 2020 Legislative Assembly elections, the Alliance-wise strength in the 81 member Jharkhand legislature is as follows –

BJP led opposition NDA (32) – BJP 25, AJSU 3, JVMP 3, JD-U 1.

JMM and Congress led ruling INDI Alliance (47) – JMM 30, Congress 16, RJD 1, NCP 1, CPI-ML 1 and Independents 2.