Maharashtra Election 2024 live
Maharashtra Election 2024 live: Voting for the 2024 assembly elections commenced today at 7 am across all 288 constituencies in Maharashtra, with polling set to conclude at 6 pm. The results are expected to be announced on November 23. The intense campaign period concluded on Monday, featuring key political figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who encouraged voters to engage in the electoral process actively.
Ajit Pawar says ‘it’s Supriya Sule’s voice; ‘jhoot hain, jhoot hain…’, she replies on ‘bitcoin scam’ allegations
NCP-SP’s Supriya Sule casts vote in Baramati
The state is poised for a contest between two significant political coalitions: the ruling alliance known as ‘Mahayuti,’ which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the opposition coalition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Indian National Congress (INC), Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).
As reported by the Election Commission of India (ECI), there are 4,136 candidates contesting in the Vidhan Sabha elections, marking an increase of 27.7 percent compared to the previous election cycle five years ago. To facilitate the voting process for approximately 9.7 crore eligible voters, a total of 1,00,186 polling stations have been established across more than 52,789 locations. Among these, 388 “pink booths” are specifically operated by women.
A survey conducted from September 21 to October 6, 2024, by Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the MIT-School of Government (MIT-SOG), revealed that unemployment and inflation are the foremost concerns for voters, with 24 percent and 22 percent of respondents identifying them as their primary issues. Additionally, agricultural distress has surfaced as a major concern for rural voters, attributed to insufficient minimum support prices (MSPs) for their crops and escalating input costs.
Another pressing issue is the demand for caste-based reservations, which has led to tensions, particularly between the Maratha community and Other Backward Classes (OBC). In the wake of the passing of NCP leader Baba Siddique and a police encounter involving a rape suspect in Badlapur, various opposition parties have drawn attention to the “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state under the governance of Eknath Shinde.
Maharashtra election 2024: Important updates
Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), has accused the BJP of engaging in a “note jihad” to garner votes, referencing allegations that BJP leader Vinod Tawde distributed cash in Palghar. Tawde has denied these accusations, describing them as unfounded attempts at gaining publicity.
Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP) has lodged a complaint with the election commission and initiated a defamation lawsuit following BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi’s claims that she and Congress leader Nana Patole illicitly utilized cryptocurrency funds to manipulate the assembly elections in their favor.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has barred political parties from publishing advertisements in print media on November 19 and 20 unless these advertisements have received prior certification from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).
The number of voters in Mumbai has exceeded 1 crore, an increase from 98.95 lakh during the Lok Sabha elections. The Navi Mumbai police have introduced a one-click service for voters, providing information on polling booths, parking, and crowd conditions through a QR code.
A case has been registered against four unidentified individuals for the attempted murder of NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during a stone-pelting incident while returning from a campaign event in Nagpur on November 18.
