The Election Commission is set to unveil the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections on Tuesday. A press briefing has been scheduled for 3:30 PM to disclose the specifics. Maharashtra’s 288-member Assembly will see its term expire on November 26, while the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly’s term will conclude on January 5, 2025.
In Maharashtra, the ruling alliance known as Mahayuti—comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party—will face off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi. This opposition bloc is formed by the Congress, Sharad Pawar’s NCP (NCP-SP), and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT). The recent parliamentary elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti secure just 17 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP itself dropping to 9 seats, a sharp decline from its 23-seat haul five years prior. On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, consisting of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar), claimed 30 seats. After forming the government in 2019, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena eventually parted ways following a series of political upheavals. In that same assembly election, the BJP took home 105 seats, while Congress captured 44.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), aligned with the INDIA bloc, will contest against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United), and the BJP. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has announced that the JMM-led coalition intends to contest all 81 seats in the forthcoming assembly election. In recent state elections, the BJP secured 48 constituencies in Haryana’s 90-seat assembly, while Congress only garnered 37 seats. In Jammu and Kashmir, the alliance between National Conference and Congress won 49 seats, with the BJP taking 29 and the PDP managing only 3.
