Maharashtra, Jharkhand Election 2024 Live Updates: 'Will continue my father's legacy,' says NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique

On Friday, the Jharkhand BJP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Congress minister Irfan Ansari for allegedly making derogatory comments about party leader Sita Soren, who is running for the Jamtara assembly constituency against him. The BJP's complaint asserted that Ansari's remarks were offensive to both the tribal community and widows in the state. They urged the commission to bar Ansari from filing his nomination and to initiate a criminal case against him.

18 candidates, including sitting Congress MLA Hiraman Khoskar, submitted their nomination papers in Nashik district as the fourth day of the nomination process for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections unfolded. To date, 48 candidates have filed their nominations since the process began on October 22 and will continue until October 29.

Among those who nominated on Friday were Khoskar, representing the Igatpuri seat, and Jitendra Bhave from the Nirbhay Maharashtra Party for Nashik East. Nashik district, located in North Maharashtra, has a total of 15 assembly seats. Nominations will be scrutinized on October 30, and candidates can withdraw from the race until 3 PM on November 4. Polling for the 288-member state assembly is set for November 20, with vote counting scheduled for three days later.

"This election is between those who love Maharashtra and who are against Maharashtra. We are fighting election to stop the loot done by CM Eknath Shinde," he said.

It has decided to field ex-BJP MLA Lois Marandi from Jama.

Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora announced on Friday that he will contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections from the Worli seat, where he will face off against Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT).

"Chief Minister @mieknathshinde ji believes that justice for Worli and Worlikars is long overdue. Together, we're paving the way forward and will share our vision soon. It's Worli NOW!," Milind Deora posted on X.

The list includes the names of PM Narendra Modi, Union ministers JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, among other leaders.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the BJP for the increasing food prices, claiming that the "triple engine government" in Maharashtra, which he accused of seizing power illegitimately, has effectively taken food away from the common people. As Maharashtra gears up for assembly elections on November 20, he stated that the state is now poised to fully open its doors to the BJP and its allies. "The BJP's 'triple engine government' which grabbed power in Maharashtra through the backdoor has snatched the food from the common person's plate," he said.

"Between October 2023 and October 2024, the ingredients used in a typical vegetarian thali -- tomato prices have increased by 247 per cent; price of garlic, which the Finance Minister probably doesn't eat, has increased by 128 per cent. On an average, the prices of all vegetables have increased by 89 per cent," he added.

Assam CM & Jharkhand BJP co-in-charge of assembly elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma says, "...I was in Congress and this is the system in Congress - they sell 20% of tickets and use that money in the election... NDA will get even stronger in the days to come and we are contesting election very well. "

"Under the leader of Nitin Gadkari the development work that has happened in Nagpur, everyone has seen it. Look at our work in the last 10 years and the work done by Congress during their rule, we need not tell but we have transformed Nagpur."

He further said, "Bangladeshi infiltrators have entered Jharkhand and only the BJP can do justice to the natives and tribals of the state. BJP will win the 81 seats."

Champai Soren said, "Not only in Jharkhand, there is BJP wave across the country. Nobody will be able to stop this wave. Alliance with Congress has no existence in Jharkhand and they stand nowhere in these elections."

Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar said, "Our discussion is still on I want to request the media do not write anything without verifying it. We are moving in a phased manner. Till we say something don't get to the conclusion that someone has been given a ticket and another one is ignored. Yesterday our whole day was spent in Delhi for the discussion and today also our senior leader. Out of 288 seats, only 11 seats are remaining to decide...We trying to take the best decision out of the discussion."

The Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will field Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora from Worli for the Assembly elections, a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray submitted his nomination for the same constituency.

Milind Deora is currently a Rajya Sabha member and is a three-time MP from South Mumbai. Deora was given the task during the Lok Sabha polls to handle Worli. Despite being Aditya's constituency, the Worli assembly saw a mere 6500 vote lead for UBT. Deora and Aditya Thackeray will also have to reckon with Sandeep Deshpande of the MNS who has also been given a ticket from the constituency.

On Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) faction leader Aditya Thackeray filed his nomination from the Worli assembly constituency.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said that discussions on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) seat sharing were almost complete and further said that the list for the same would be released by Monday.

Speaking to the media, Raut said "Our discussion on almost every seat has been completed. Today, the discussions with the smaller parties in our alliance will be done as well. On Monday, the full list will be released.

The nomination process has started for Maharashtra assembly elections which will be held on November 20.

The Maharashtra assembly has 288 seats. The results will be declared on November 23.

Raut also spoke on deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's visit to Delhi and said that Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena never went to Delhi for seat sharing however the duplicate Shiv Sena has their boss in Delhi and hence they need to do their sit ups there.

A meeting will be held by the Congress party at All India Congress Committee headquarters (AICC) here for the selection of candidates for Maharashtra Assembly Polls on Friday at 4:30pm.

On October 24, the Congress party released their first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming elections.

The party has fielded state unit Chief, Nana Patole from Sakoli while Praful Vinodrao Gudadhe has been nominated from Nagpur South West and Balasaheb Thorat has been nominated from Sangamner.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, "Our discussion on almost every seat have been completed. Today, the discussions with smaller parties in our alliance will be done as well. By Monday, the full list will be released."

He says, "The Shiv Sena which is left with CM Eknath Shinde, its high command is in Delhi at the residence of Amit Shah. The Shiv Sena that we have, of Balasaheb Thackeray, never went to Delhi for seat sharing. In those days, BJP leaders used to come to Mumbai for seat sharing. But, duplicate Shiv Sena has its boss in Delhi and hence they need to go there and do sit-ups. They are not original Shiv Sena but 'non-biological' Shiv Sena. Amit Shah gave birth to this non-biological Shiv Sena."

Shiv Sena leader Raju Waghmare says, "If you see the list of Congress candidates, you can see it has the old names. It has given tickets to those who have always been a Congress candidate. The people want new faces and changes in Congress. The list of 48 candidates that Congress has released has those old names which have no acceptance (from the people)."

Zeeshan Siddiqui, son of former MLA and NCP leader Baba Siddique, joined the NCP on Friday in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, ahead of the upcoming elections.

Zeeshan has been announced as the NCP candidate for the Vandre East constituency, where he won in the 2019 elections, defeating Shiv Sena's Vishwanath Mahadeshwar.

After joining the NCP, Zeeshan Siddiqui said, "This is an emotional day for me and my family. I am thankful to Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare for believing in me in these tough times. I have got the nomination from Vandre East; I am sure that with the love and support of all the people, I will definitely win Vandre East yet again."

Zeeshan was upset with the Congress after the party gave away his seat Bandra East to the UBT Sena as per the seat sharing formula of the Aghadi.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday exuded confidence in the Mahayuti alliance's victory in the upcoming elections and said the people of the state are aware of the developmental work done by them in the state.

"Our agenda is strong. The people have seen our work and the speed with which we have done various developmental work. We will contest the elections on that only," Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said while speaking to the media.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde also exuded confidence in the Mahayuti alliance retaining power in Maharashtra.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has released another list of candidates for two seats for the upcoming Assembly polls that will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20.

The party has fielded Ganesh Mehli from the Saraikela seat and Ramsurya Munda from Khunti.

Earlier on October 24, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren who had filed his nomination for the upcoming assembly polls took a jibe at Assam CM and Jharkhand BJP co-in-charge of assembly elections Himanta Biswa Sarma by calling him as 'Pravaasi' CM who will not be seen in state once the assembly polls are over.

BJP leader Nishikant Bhosale Patil and former BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil joined the NCP on Friday in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, ahead of Maharashtra's upcoming elections.

According to sources, Sanjaykaka Patil and Nishikant Bhosale have received their AB forms and are now official candidates for the NCP in the Maharashtra Election 2024, representing Tasgaon and Islampur, respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, a crucial meeting was held in Delhi between Home Minister Amit Shah and leaders of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance to prepare for the state elections.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, along with leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare attended the meeting.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the Mahayuti has finalised distribution of 278 of the 288 assembly seats in the state, polls to which will be held on November 20. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport after attending a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister and key BJP strategist Amit Shah in New Delhi, Fadnavis said the remaining 10 seats will be finalised in the next couple of days.

"We (ruling alliance) have finalised 278 seats. The BJP's next list will probably be announced tomorrow. Our meeting in Delhi was very positive," he said.

The Mahayuti comprises the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.

So far, the BJP has announced candidates for 99 seats, the Shiv Sena 40 and NCP 38.

Shah on Thursday met Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to iron out issues related to seat sharing.