Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Election Commission has announced the dates for the 2024 Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections. Jharkhand will vote in two phases—on November 13 and November 20—while Maharashtra will vote in a single phase on November 20. The counting of votes for both states will take place on November 23, with results expected on the same day.
The announcement also included dates for various Lok Sabha bypolls, including Kerala’s Wayanad seat, which Rahul Gandhi vacated after winning from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh.
2019 Maharashtra and Jharkhand Election Recap
In 2019, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), secured victory with 47 of the 82 seats in the state assembly. Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the (then unified) Shiv Sena dominated, winning 161 of the 288 seats. However, the alliance dissolved due to power-sharing disputes, and the Shiv Sena formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.
This coalition government lasted until 2023, when rebellions by Eknath Shinde from the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar from the NCP forced then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to resign, resulting in the fall of the MVA government.
2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election Outlook
In the upcoming Maharashtra election, the ruling BJP, in alliance with the breakaway factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP, aims to consolidate power after Narendra Modi’s historic re-election as Prime Minister earlier this year. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hopes to sway voters with his flagship welfare scheme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, which provides poor women with a ₹1,500 monthly stipend. The BJP-NCP-Sena alliance, dubbed the Mahayuti, faces challenges after its disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections, where it won only 17 of the 48 seats.
For the Congress, the stakes are high in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, especially after recent setbacks in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. Congress’s performance in these state elections will be critical for its positioning within the INDIA opposition bloc ahead of the general elections.
2024 Jharkhand Assembly Election
In Jharkhand, the focus is likely to be on the corruption allegations against Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Soren, who was arrested in January on money laundering charges, secured bail in June after the Supreme Court found no prima facie evidence of his guilt. Soren and his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party have accused the BJP of framing him in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections to destabilize the opposition.
Final State Elections of 2024
The Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections mark the final round of state polls for 2024. These elections follow recent results in Haryana, where the BJP retained control, and Jammu & Kashmir, where the National Conference-Congress alliance secured victory. The outcome of these elections will be crucial for both the ruling BJP and opposition parties, shaping the political landscape ahead of the 2024 general elections.
