Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019: Date, All you need to know

The Shiv Sena and BJP had forged an alliance before the Lok Sabha polls on February 19. FILE PIC

On Saturday, the Election Commission announced that the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 21, 2019. Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) also said that the counting of votes in both the states will be held on October 24. The five-year term of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly which consists of 288-members will end on November 9, 2019.

According to the announcement by the Election Commission of India, the last date for the filing of nominations is October 4, while the last date for the withdrawal of nominations is October 7. While speaking at the event, Sunil Arora said that the random tally of EVMs will be done as was it done in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Besides announcing the assembly election dates, the Chief Election Commissioner also spoke about the environmental concern that the election campaigns bring with them. Regarding the same Arora said, "Election campaigns impose an environmental cost upon us. We appeal to political parties to avoid the use of plastic and use only environment-friendly material in their campaigns." Arora also mentioned that the EC has brought down more than 5,000 polling booths on the ground floor from the first or second-floor level on the request of several political parties from Maharashtra.

Also Read: Assembly polls in Maharashtra to be held on October 21

While speaking at the event, Arora also said that special security arrangements have been made for the LWE affected areas in Gadchiroli and Gondia in Maharashtra. He said that the expenditure limit for the assembly election for both Maharashtra and Haryana will be Rs 28 lakh.

Over nine crore voters will cast their vote during the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The main parties who will be contesting the Maharashtra Assembly Elections are The main parties contesting for the 288 Maharashtra Assembly seats elections are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party.

The official notification released by the Election Commission of India. Pic/Twitter PIB Mumbai

The full schedule of the 2019 Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Elections:

Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner while addressing the press conference. Pic/Twitter ECISVEEP

Lok Sabha Elections 2019:

In the recently-concluded 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena together won 41 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. While the BJP secured 23 of the 25 seats it contested in the 2019 LS polls, the Sena managed to gain victory over 18 of the 23 seats it fought.

In the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, the two saffron parties had fought the state Assembly polls independently following disagreement over seat-sharing. While the Sena won 63 seats, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 122 seats.

Devendra Fadnavis speaks:

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the BJP and the Shiv Sena will contest the next the Assembly polls together. He also exuded confidence that he will retain the post after the Assembly Elections are over. As soon as the Assembly polls dates were announced by the Election Commission, Fadnavis took to Twitter and urged all to cast their votes for the largest festival of democracy. In his tweet, Fadnavis said that people question govt and have expectations from the govt, but only those who vote have the moral right to do so," reports news agency ANI.

No of Assembly seats - 228

No. of seats Sena won in 2014 - 63

No. of seats BJP won in 2014 - 122

No. of seats required for a majority in the Assembly - 145

Also Read: Shiv Sena, BJP start bickering over CM's post, seat-sharing

With inputs from agencies

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates