Single phase Assembly polls in Maharashtra on Nov 20, Jharkhand to vote on Nov 13, 20

 Results to be declared on Nov 23  CEC denounces exit polls, calls for self-introspection

PTI, NEW DELHI, OCT 15, 2024: The Assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20, while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday. The votes for the two states will be counted on November 23.

"There are 9.63 crore eligible voters in Maharashtra, while the number of eligible voters in Jharkhand is 2.6 crore," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference here. By-polls will also be held in 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats, the CEC said.

Bye-elections to 47 Assembly seats and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, will be held on November 13. By-polls to the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand and the Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra will be held on November 20. By-polls to the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal and Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh were not announced as election petitions are pending for the two seats.

Kumar said elections will be held in both the states on Wednesdays to address the problem of urban apathy. The BJP is keen to retain power in Maharashtra along with allies Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is facing a challenge from the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition of the Congress-NCP-SP-Shiv Sena UBT, which hopes to repeat its performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The Opposition MVA alliance won 31 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections.

In Jharkhand, the Congress is playing second fiddle to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, while the BJP is looking to make a comeback.

It deserves mention here that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday slammed the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels as "nonsense". Addressing a press conference here, Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.

"We do not govern exit polls, but there is a need for self-introspection. What was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come, and what is my responsibility if I did not match that result? Are there disclosures – all of these need to be seen," Kumar said, flanked by two Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and S. S. Sandhu. The CEC said associations such as the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority should do some self-regulation.