The stage is set for Maharashtra assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held in a single phase on Wednesday, November 20, along with the second phase of Jharkhand.
Jharkhand assembly elections
The assembly elections in Jharkhand were held in two phases, with the first phase of voting on November 13 and the second phase scheduled for November 20.
Constituencies voting in Phase 1
The first phase of elections in Jharkhand took place across 43 constituencies.
Kodarma
Barkatha
Barhi
Barkagaon
Hazaribagh
Simaria (SC)
Chatra (SC)
Baharagora
Ghatsila (ST)
Potka (ST)
Jugsalai (SC)
Jamshedpur East
Jamshedpur West
Ichagarh
Seraikella (ST)
Chaibasa (ST)
Majhgaon (ST)
Jaganathpur (ST)
Manoharpur (ST)
Chakradharpur (ST)
Kharsawan (ST)
Tamar (ST)
Torpa (ST)
Khunti (ST)
Ranchi
Hatia
Kanke (SC)
Mandar (ST)
Sisai (ST)
Gumla (ST)
Bishunpur (ST)
Simdega (ST)
Kolebira (ST)
Lohardaga (ST)
Manika (ST)
Latehar (SC)
Panki
Daltonganj
Bishrampur
Chhatarpur (SC)
Hussainabad
Garhwa
Bhawanathpur
Constituencies voting in Phase 2
In the second phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections, 38 constituencies will be up for grabs.
Rajmahal
Borio (ST)
Barhait (ST)
Litipara (ST)
Pakaur
Maheshpur (ST)
Sikaripara (ST)
Nala
Jamtara
Dumka (ST)
Jama (ST)
Jarmundi
Madhupur
Sarath
Deoghar (SC)
Poreyahat
Godda
Mahagama
Ramgarh
Mandu
Dhanwar
Bagodar
Jamua (SC)
Gandey
Giridih
Dumri
Gomia
Bermo
Bokaro
Chandankiyari (SC)
Sindri
Nirsa
Dhanbad
Jharia
Tundi
Baghmara
Silli
Khijri (ST)
Major parties in Jharkhand
The state is currently governed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The election sees a primary contest between two major alliances. The incumbent Congress-JMM coalition, along with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), has already distributed most of the constituency tickets.
1st Phase key candidates
The first phase of Jharkhand election has 683 candidates in fray. Major candidates in the 1st phase include:
Champai Soren of BJP who is contesting from Seraikella
Mahua Maji of JMM from Ranchi
Banna Gupta of INC from Jamshedpur West
Geeta Koda of BJP from Jaganathpur
Ajoy Kumar of INC from Jamshedpur East
Sukhram Oraon of JMM from Chakradharpur
2nd Phase key candidates
Major candidates for the second phase of the Jharkhand elections include:
Current chief minister Hemant Soren of JMM contesting from Barhait
Babulal Marandi of BJP from Dhanwar
Rabindra Nath Mahato nominated by JMM from Nala
Bebi Devi of JMM from Dumri
Hafizul Ansari of JMM from Madhupur
Deepika Pandey of INC from Mahagama
Dr. Irfan Ansari, belonging to INC from Jamtara
Badal Patralekh of INC from Jarmundi
Randhir Singh of BJP from Sarath
Pradeep Yadav of INC from Poreyahat
Stephen Marandi of JMM from Maheshpur
Basant Soren of JMM from Dumka
Lois Marandi of JMM Jama
Hemlal Murmu of JMM from Littipara
Mathura Mahato of JMM from Tundi
Amar Bauri of BJP from Chandankiyari
Kalpana Soren of JMM from Gande
AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto from Silli
Sita Soren of BJP from Jamtara
Lobin Hembrom of BJP from Borio
Vinod Singh of CPI from Bagodar
Anup Singh of INC from Bermo
Jharkhand assembly voting turnout
The first phase of voting in Jharkhand began at 7 am, was carried out peacefully with no incidents of violence reported. A voter turnout of 66.65 per cent had been recorded across polling stations in Jharkhand, surpassing the 63.9 per cent turnout in the same 43 assembly constituencies during the 2019 assembly elections.
Women voters turned out enthusiastically, surpassing the overall male turnout by 4.8 per cent, highlighting their growing involvement in the democratic process. Male turnout was recorded at 64.27 per cent, while female turnout reached 69.04 per cent. Voter participation among the third gender stood at 31.02 per cent.
Maharashtra assembly elections
Maharashtra is set to hold its assembly elections on all 288 seats in a single phase on Wednesday, November 20. The election will feature a neck tight contest between the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Major Parties in the political landscape
Maharashtra's political landscape has undergone a major shift since the last elections, marked by splits within the Shiv Sena and NCP, as well as Uddhav Thackeray's faction of the Sena breaking away from the BJP to align with Congress. This has made the upcoming electoral contest particularly important.
The state has a voter base of 9.6 crore, which includes 20.9 lakh first-time voters aged 18-19, and 1.8 crore voters in the 20-29 age group, spread across 288 constituencies.
This year the battle would be between the Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP and the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) which brings together Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar.
Key candidates and constituencies
Maharashtra's current CM Eknath Shinde from Shiv Sena (Shinde) is contesting from Kopri-Pachpakhadi
Nana Patole of Congress from Sakoli
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of BJP is contesting from Nagpur South-West
Aaditya Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) from Worli
Milind Deora of Shiv Sena (Shinde) from Worli
Zeeshan Siddique of NCP (AP) from Bandra East
Nawab Malik of NCP (AP) from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar
Ajit Pawar of NCP (AP) from Baramati
Rohit Patil of NCP (SP) from Tasgaon
Exit Polls: When and where to watch it
As the voting will conclude, all attention will turn towards the exit poll predictions for Jharkhand and Maharashtra which will offer insights into the potential outcomes for the state's future government.
These results are expected to be available after 6:30 pm on November 20, Wednesday, once voting has finished.