Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra on Wednesday. The reputation of many senior leaders of the state, including Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, are at stake. On the other hand, the people of Jharkhand are also ready to vote in the second phase. The contest here is between the ruling India Bloc and the NDA. Voting will be held on Wednesday in 38 of the total 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand. In addition, by-elections will be held for 15 seats in four federal states. Of them, 9 seats are from Uttar Pradesh.
There are different battles on different fronts in Maharashtra. Both Pawar and Shinde-Thackeray are engaged in an interesting battle to find popular legitimacy for their parties. The election results for the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly will be announced on November 23.
Sharad Pawar wants to repeat Lok Sabha performance
Sharad Pawar will turn 84 next month. He had dealt a blow to his nephew in the Lok Sabha elections. He is trying to repeat this in the assembly elections too, as Ajit Pawar hopes to make a comeback.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) are part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, in which the Congress is the third major player. The NCP and Shiv Sena are allied with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti.
Whose candidates are in the running?
The BJP is contesting on 149 seats, the Shiv Sena on 81 seats and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded its candidates on 59 seats. In the opposition alliance, Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95 and NCP (SP) 86. Both Shiv Sena candidates are contesting each other in over 50 seats, while in 37 constituencies both Pawars have fielded their candidates.
Interesting fight between uncle and nephew.
The fight between uncle and nephew is fiercest in western Maharashtra, a prosperous region where the Pawar clan has its roots. The state’s four-time former chief minister Sharad Pawar has issued a call to “defeat the traitors”. It is clear that he is targeting his nephew Ajit Pawar and his candidates. In return, his nephew Ajit Pawar has refrained from using harsh words against him. In the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP (SP) won eight seats against the NCP’s only seat. While Shiv Sena (UBT) won with nine seats, while Shiv Sena won with seven.
More than 500 candidates are in the fray in Jharkhand
Wednesday is the second day of assembly elections in Jharkhand. This phase will decide the electoral fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren and opposition leader Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP), besides over 500 other candidates. Voting will begin at 7:00 a.m. in 14,218 polling stations and will continue until 5:00 p.m., except in 31 polling stations. Voting in these 31 polling stations will end at 4 p.m.
During the election campaign, the NDA attacked the JMM-led alliance for alleged infiltration from Bangladesh and corruption of leaders, including the CM, who is out on bail. The BJP-led alliance raised the issue of Hindutva.
India Block promised welfare plans
On the other hand, the ruling government tried to woo voters by promising welfare schemes and accused the BJP of spending Rs 500 crore on a “malicious campaign” against the CM, who is a “tribal leader”. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for polling have been completed and polling staff have been peacefully dispatched to all polling stations.
Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh have targeted CM Hemant Soren, who has spent five months in prison for a money laundering case related to the alleged land scam. .
Champai Soren’s dismissal became an electoral issue
Soon after Hemant Soren was released on bail in June, he removed Champai Soren from the post of CM, which became a major election issue. It was claimed that JMM had insulted a tribal. Champai Soren later joined the BJP and contested the assembly elections.
Center accused of using ED-CBI against opposition
At the same time, India Block leaders including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his wife and MLA Kalpana Soren also campaigned on a large scale and promised plans for welfare for the people of Jharkhand. The India Block accused the central government of “using” ED and CBI against rival parties.
Besides CM Soren and his wife, candidates in this round include BJP state president and former CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahato (JMM) and BJP ally AJSU party chief Sudesh Mahato.
How many candidates from which party are in the running?
In the second phase, 28 seats are reserved for ST candidates and nine for SC candidates. In 2019 elections, of the SC seats, JMM won 2, BJP won 6 and RJD won 1 seat. Among the ST reserved seats, JMM emerged victorious with 19 seats, Congress with 6, BJP with 2 and JVM (P) with 1 seat.
This time, as far as the NDA is concerned, the BJP has fielded candidates for 68 seats, while allied party AJSU has fielded candidates for 10, the JDU for two and Lok Janshakti (Ram Vilas) for one seat. While in the India Block, JMM has fielded candidates for 43 seats, Congress for 30, RJD for 6 and CPI (ML) for 4 seats and there is also a friendly fight in some seats.
