Voters in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are going to the polling booths on Wednesday to elect their new state governments. In Maharashtra, voting is being held for all 288 assembly seats in a single phase, while in Jharkhand, voters from 38 constituencies are going to the polling booths in the second and final phase. In the first phase, polls were held in 43 of 81 assembly seats of Jharkhand on 13 November.  

CREDIT: ANI

In one of the most high-profile election battles of 2024 in Maharashtra, the contest is between the Mahayuti Alliance and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).  

The Mahayuti Alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party, while the opposition MVA is constituted by the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).  

This is the first assembly election in Maharashtra since two of the regional political powerhouses split and are now on opposing sides while retaining their respective names.  

CREDIT: BCCL

The Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray, split in 2022, and the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, aligned with the BJP, retained the party's name and symbol, while the faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray goes by the name Shiv Sena (UBT) and has a flaming torch as its symbol.  

Similarly, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was split in July 2023, and Ajit Pawar, who joined the BJP's alliance, got the party's name and symbol, while the one led by former CM Sharad Pawar got a new symbol—a man blowing a trumpet.  

A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray, which includes 2,086 independent contenders. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and NCP 59 constituencies. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has fielded 86 candidates. The BSP is contesting 237 seats. There are other smaller parties also in the fray. The state has about 9.70 crore voters. 

In Jharkhand, a total of 528 candidates are in the fray for the 38 seats in the second phase, including 55 women, one third-gender candidate, and 472 male candidates.  

CREDIT: BCCL

The results of the assembly elections in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and bypolls across several states will be declared on 23 November.

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