Assembly elections in Maharashtra likely to be held in November. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that Maharashtra will have its polls later this year due to heightened security requirements for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election.
CEC Kumar has said that the state is also currently engaged in significant cultural and religious activities, including Ganesh Chaturthi, Pitru Paksha, and Diwali, which complicates the electoral process if elections are held immediately.
“Last time, Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections were held together. At that time, J&K was not a factor but this time there are four elections this year and fifth election immediately after this. Depending on the requirement of forces, we have decided to conduct 2 elections together…The other factor is that there was heavy rainfall in Maharashtra and there are several festivals lined up too,” the poll panel chief said.
Kumar also pointed out that the Election Commission has the privilege to schedule elections up to six months before the Legislative Assembly’s term ends, allowing flexibility in managing the electoral calendar.
Sources in the ruling party in Maharashtra said the polls have to be done after the festive season because of Janmashtami and the Ganesh festival. They noted that Pitru Paksha, a period during which no auspicious activities are pursued, directly follows these celebrations.
Subsequently, there will be a busy season with Navratri, culminating in Dussehra, leading into Diwali. The festive period concludes on November 2, allowing the commencement of the election campaign from November 3.
Opposition leaders in Maharashtra have criticised the government and the Election Commission for the timing of the elections and have noted that the BJP and allies are trying to sway the voters. Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the political atmosphere in the state currently favours the MVA, thus leaving the government to allegedly create instability to tilt the balance in its favour.
he poll panel on Friday announced schedule for assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 4.
Jammu and Kashmir are set to witness assembly elections for the first time since its reorganization into a Union territory in 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370. In the previous assembly election of 2014, the region had contested for 87 seats, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), then led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, securing 28 seats. Unexpectedly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged with 25 seats.
The National Conference (NC), the ruling party at that time, had claimed 15 seats, while the Congress secured 12 seats. Following a coalition between the PDP and BJP, with Sayeed as the Chief Minister, the government was formed in 2015. After Sayeed’s passing, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti assumed the role of CM; however, the government fell apart in 2018 when the BJP withdrew its support.
Elections in Haryana are scheduled to be conducted in a single phase on October 1, with the vote counting set to take place on October 4. The state, which was under the rule of the BJP since 2014, witnessed the end of the decade-long Congress governance led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. In the 2019 elections, the BJP reinstated its power by forming a coalition government with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), resulting in Manohar Lal Khattar’s second term as the chief minister.
Recently, Khattar resigned from his position as the chief minister earlier this year, leading to Nayab Singh Saini taking over the role. Additionally, the BJP terminated its alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP.
