THE election campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly polls ended on Monday, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback. Polling will be held in all the 288 Assembly seats on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union Ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates. Campaigning for the highstakes second and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections ended on Monday evening. Voters will head to the polling booths on November 20 to decide the fate of candidates across 38 constituencies. These include 18 seats from Santhal Pargana, another 18 from North Chotanagpur, and two fromSouth Chotanagpur divisions.

 

Out of these 38 seats, eight are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), three for Scheduled Castes (SCs), and the remaining 27 are general category seats. Prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Hemant Soren contesting fromBarhait, State BJP President and former CM Babulal Marandi fromDhanwar, and JMM star campaigner Kalpana Soren. In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti,comprising theBJP, ShivSenaledbyChiefMinister Eknath Shinde, and the NationalistCongressPartyled by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power. The BJP’s use of slogans like “Batenge tohkatenge” and“Ek hai toh safehai”prompted the Opposition parties to accuse theMahayutiofpolarisingvoters along religious lines. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress,ShivSena (UBT)and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath’s use of “Batenge toh katenge” and PMModi’s“Ekhai tohsafehai” slogans. Not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar,distancedhimself from them. Deputy Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance. The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine’s rhetoric by focusing on issues like castebased census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution.

 

The Opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the Government. Ahead of the elections, theBJP onMondaylaunchedanew ad campaign attacking the Opposition MVA and urging people to“SayNotoCongress.” The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar. The BJP is contesting the November 20 elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the AjitPawarledNCPhas fieldedcandidates in 59 constituencies. TheCongresshas fielded101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86candidates. Smallerparties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlise-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates andAIMIM17in the288-member Lower House. The number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this timecompared to the2019 State Assembly elections.This year, 4,136candidatesarecontesting, up from 3,239 in 2019. Among thesecandidates,2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contestingagainst theirparty’s official nominees. The number of registered voters has increased to 9,63,69,410, up from 8,94,46,211in 2019,with addition of 69,23,199 new voters.