Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly election dates out, result on November 23

While Maharashtra will go to polls in a single phase on November 20, Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20. The results will be declared on November 23.

In Short

• Maharashtra to vote in single phase on November 20
• Voting in Jharkhand on November 13, 20
• Result will be announced on November 23

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the dates for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. While Maharashtra will go to polls in a single phase on November 20, Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20.

The counting of votes will be done on November 23, the poll panel said. Follow LIVE Updates here

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also announced the dates for bye-elections to 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which will be held on November 13.

Bypolls to Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand and Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra will be held on November 20, Rajiv Kumar said.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP will be up against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 105 out of total 288 Assembly seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena, won 56 seats. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had a comfortable majority to form the government.

However, a power struggle over the Chief Minister’s post led to a split between the two parties. Shiv Sena eventually formed a government in with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Uddhav Thackeray from Shiv Sena became the Chief Minister.

However, the MVA government could not complete its full term and collapsed in June 2022 after a rebellion within the Shiv Sena, led by senior leader Eknath Shinde.

Shinde, along with several Shiv Sena MLAs, opposed the party's alliance with the Congress and NCP. His rebellion divided the party into two factions and he went to form the government with the help of the BJP and became the Chief Minister.

The Jharkhand Assembly polls will see the INDIA bloc square up against the BJP which is looking to unseat the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government.

In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly election, the JMM-led alliance, which included the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), secured a decisive victory, winning 47 out of the 81 seats in the assembly.

The JMM emerged as the largest party with 30 seats, while the Congress won 16 seats, and the RJD won 1 seat. The BJP, which was in power before the election, won 25 seats. Following the election, JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

However, Soren faces a tough task this time, battling corruption charges in an alleged land scam case.