Maharashtra Elections 2024 LIVE Updates: Voting is on for all 288 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today, November 20. A total of 4,136 candidates are contesting the elections.

Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters in the state to vote in large numbers as polls opened for 288 seats in Maharashtra. “Today, voting will be held for all seats of the Maharashtra Assembly elections. I urge the voters of the state to be a part of it with full enthusiasm and add to the splendor of the festival of democracy. On this occasion, I appeal to all young and women voters to vote in large numbers,” Modi said in a post on X.

The contest in Maharashtra is largely bipolar. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the ruling Mahayuti banner, is contesting against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi Alliance (MVA), comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP ( Sharad Pawar) and the Congress party.

Of the 288 assembly seats, 234 fall under the general category, 29 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 25 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Voting will take place in 1,00,186 polling stations in 52,789 locations. This includes 42,604 urban polling booths and 57,582 rural polling booths. Out of these 299 polling booths are managed by Persons with Disabilities (PwD).

According to the updated voter list, Maharashtra has about 9.7 million (97 million) eligible voters. This includes 4.97 million male voters and 4.66 million female voters. There are 1.85 million young voters (18-29), including 20.93 lakh first-time voters (18-19).

2019 Assembly Elections

The 2019 Maharashtra assembly election saw a voter turnout of 61.4%. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of BJP and Shiv Sena (SHS) won the majority. The alliance was dissolved following differences over the formation of the government, precipitating a political crisis.

In the last five years, the state has had three different chief ministers. These include Devendra Fadavis of BJP, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena (SHS).

The two major regional parties – the Shiv Sena and the National Congress Party (NCP) – also saw splits, leading to alliances in power and in opposition.

High political stakes

The political stakes have never been higher in Maharashtra. As key players vie for control in one of India’s richest states, the contest is more than a power struggle. While it is a test of leadership legacies for many, it is also a struggle for political survival for others.

The high-decibel campaign saw several prominent national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Union ministers, travel across the state to rally support for the Mahayuti and MVA candidates .

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP lost ground in Maharashtra. It won just nine of the 28 seats it contested in 2024, compared to 23 of the 25 seats it contested in the 2019 general election.

Maharashtra results will test BJP’s momentum after Haryana victory. The election will also be another test for the INDIA bloc as major players in the opposition alliance are in the fray here.

The elections are testing the BJP’s ability to stay in power with the help of regional parties – factions of the Shiv Sena and the NCP, in this case. A victory in Maharashtra would certainly enhance the BJP’s reach beyond its traditional northern strongholds.