New Delhi:

The Election Commission (EC) will announce the dates for Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on Tuesday. The EC will announce the poll schedule at a press conference to be held at 3.30 pm.

In Maharashtra’s last Assembly elections in 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising a then unified Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with the Congress, had won 154 of 288 seats. This year’s election will probably be the last prestige battle of 2024 with the fractured Shiv Sena and NCP battling the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.

Sources in the BJP told NDTV the party will contest on 158 of the state’s 288 seats. It has offered 70 seats to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and 50 to Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.

The Congress, battered by the Haryana defeat, will face an upbeat BJP. Among the key figures to be watched out in the poll season in Maharashtra will be Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has held a series of hunger strikes to demand reservation for the community.

In the Lok Sabha election held this year, MVA won 30 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. The ruling alliance won 17. One seat went to an Independent candidate.

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is ready to lock horns with the BJP. In the 2019 elections, JMM had won 30 seats and went on to form the government with the Congress, which has won 16 seats.

Doubts over the future of this government emerged when Mr Soren was arrested in a land scam case in January, leading to the party’s Champai Soren to take over the chief ministerial post.

Soren said the JMM-led alliance will contest all 81 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. He expressed confidence in the party’s electoral preparedness and asserted that the alliance would regain power in the state.

While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26, that of Jharkhand ends on January 5 next year. 

New Delhi:

The nomination process for 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union territories for the 2024 general elections with the Election Commission on behalf of the President issuing its notification.

Candidates contesting in the elections must file their nomination papers within a specified timeframe. The last date for filing nomination papers for most constituencies is March 27. However, in Bihar, due to a festival, the deadline is extended to March 28. Candidates also have the option to withdraw their nomination before a specified deadline. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 20 for most constituencies, and April 2 for Bihar.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be conducted in seven phases, starting on April 19 and concluding on June 1. Each phase will cover different constituencies across various states and Union territories. The results of the election will be announced on June 4.

The first phase of polling includes states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.

Simultaneous Elections

Simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states: Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.
Jammu and Kashmir, under President’s Rule since 2018, will not have simultaneous elections due to security concerns.

By-elections will also be conducted for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.

Election Commission’s Measures

The Election Commission has taken several measures to ensure fair and transparent elections. Special attention is given to combatting fake news on social media, with severe penalties for dissemination.

Strict guidelines are in place to prevent hate speeches and maintain the integrity of the electoral process.

Special provisions are made for elderly voters above the age of 85 and persons with disabilities, allowing them to vote from home.
Approximately 82 lakh voters fall under the category of those above the age of 85.
 

Hyderabad:

It is just about a week since the election code came into effect in Telangana, and in just eight days, seizures in the form of cash, liquor, drugs, gold, and silver have crossed Rs 100 crore, according to officials.

In 2018, in the run-up to assembly elections, the total amount recovered was Rs 103.89 crore. This year, the recoveries are set to cross that figure.

The Election Commission has said nearly Rs 56 crore in cash (Rs 55,99,26,994), Rs 2.6 crore worth liquor, Rs 3.42 crore worth ganja, Rs 38.45 crore worth gold, silver and diamonds, other freebies worth Rs 70 lakh, adding up to over Rs 101 crores (Rs 101,18,17,299) has been seized.

Telangana votes on November 30 and the results will be announced on December 3.