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The Election Commission (ECI) on Tuesday announced that the Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.
The Maharashtra Assembly, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature, consists of 288 members elected from single-seat constituencies. The current political scenario is dominated by two major alliances – the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Shiv Sena (party of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar, and the Indian National Congress ; and the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena party led by Eknath Shinde and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP.
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“Of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, 234 are in the general category. The state has a total of 96.3 million voters. 25 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 29 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC),” said Rajeev Kumar, Election Commissioner.
The total number of voters in Maharashtra is 96.3 million.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Complete Schedule
Date of publication of notification in the Gazette: October 22
Last date for submitting applications: October 29
Appointment scrutiny date: October 30
Last date for application withdrawal: November 4th
Voting date: November 20th
Vote counting date: November 23
Date before which the election will be completed: November 25
Current Member of Parliament
The current assembly was elected in October 2019. The BJP emerged as the dominant party with 105 seats, while the Shiv Sena won 56 seats. However, political unrest began when Uddhav Thackeray's government was formed under the MVA alliance due to differences with the BJP over power-sharing arrangements. Currently in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde leads a coalition government with the support of a total of 205 MLAs.
There are currently 15 vacancies in the assembly, which could change with the next elections scheduled for the end of this year.
Chief Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
-Eknath Shinde: Shiv Sena for Chief Minister (Shinde Party)
– Devendra Fadnavis: Deputy Chief Minister (Bharatiya Janata Party)
Recent developments
Seven new members of the Legislative Council (MLC) took oath just hours before the Election Commission announced the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections by October 15, 2024. The Assembly elections are expected to be held in the second week of November , as the term of the current Maharashtra Assembly ends on November 26 and the election process needs to be completed before then.
Rise of Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra politics
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde and a group of MLAs rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, marking a turning point in Maharashtra politics. Shinde expressed discontent with the MVA alliance. Later on June 21, he and several MLAs left for Surat and later Guwahati, claiming that the MVA was against the fundamental principles of the Shiv Sena.
The political conflict intensified when Thackeray's party said it planned to disqualify Shinde and his supporters for disobeying party orders. However, Shinde's group successfully petitioned the governor for a floor test, resulting in Thackeray's resignation on June 29, 2022, without facing a vote.
Thereafter, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister, claiming his party as the legitimate Shiv Sena.
Maha Bikash Aghadi Jot
After a meeting on Monday, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said there was no seat-sharing dispute between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners and said the alliance would contest 288 seats.
On Sunday, the opposition MVA released a document titled “Gadaranch Panchanama” (Register of Traitors), criticizing the Maharashtra government led by Eknath Shinde, accusing it of betraying the state's interests in favor of Gujarat.
2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority. However, the coalition fell apart due to differences over the formation of the government. President's rule was imposed because no party could form the government. Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister on November 23, 2019, with Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister.
Both leaders, however, resigned on November 26, 2019, ahead of the plenary test on November 28. This paved the way for the formation of a new alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), with Uddhav Thackeray becoming the chief minister.
On 29 June 2022, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as chief minister following a split in the Shiv Sena in which a group of MLAs led by Eknath Shinde broke away and joined the BJP. As a result, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis assumed the role of Deputy Chief Minister.
