On October 21, Maharashtra will head to polls to elect a new Legislative Assembly. The tenure of the current Assembly, which was elected in 2014, ends on November 9. Counting of votes will take place on October 24, well ahead of Diwali. Haryana will also head for polls simultaneously.
Elections in Maharashtra will be held for 288 out of the Assembly's total 289 seat. One seat belongs to a nominated member. Over 8.9 crore voters are the expected to cast their ballots across more than 95,000 polling stations.
The current political scenario in Maharashtra
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led governing coalition is aiming to retain power. After having a bittersweet relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party for five years, the Shiv Sena has agreed to not only contest along with its traditional ally, but also do so on lesser number of seats.
This BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, commonly known as ‘Maha-Yuti’ is being challenged by Congress-NCP’s ‘Maha-Aghadi’. Both alliances include other partners too.
Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM are also in fray.
So what are the key things one needs to watch out for?
Aaditya’s political plunge
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray is contesting from the Worli Assembly constituency in Mumbai. This makes the 29-year-old the first member of the Thackeray family to enter electoral politics.
Impact of defections
In the run-up to the election, many key opposition leaders have defected to the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Defections have happened in almost every constituency. However, this has also left the cadre upset in many areas. This is likely to have a major impact on the outcome in many seats.
Voter scrutiny over floods, economy
The election is happening months after a flood left many parts of Maharashtra devastated. The government’s response will be under voter scrutiny. There are also growing concerns over economic slowdown and lacking job opportunities.
For more on the Maharashtra elections, watch this video by Nachiket Deuskar.
Assembly Elections 2019: For the latest news, views and updates, click here
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