16 March,2024 05:14 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rajiv Kumar with the newly-appointed Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar. Pic/PTI
The Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Maharashtra will be held in five phases. Mumbai and its adjoining areas will vote on May 20, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Saturday
It said that the polls in Maharashtra will be held in five different phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4. The fifth and final phase of voting will take place on May 20, 2024, encompassing 13 constituencies, including Washim, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Welfare, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South Central, and Mumbai South.
Maharashtra has a total number of 48 constituencies in the state. The electoral process will unfold in multiple phases to ensure a smooth and efficient voting process.
In Maharashtra, the incumbent NDA, which includes the BJP, Ajit Pawar's NCP, and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, will compete for 48 Lok Sabha seats against the state-level opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT).
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The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is a member of the INDIA bloc in the critical swing state, which sends the second most MPs to the Lower House after Uttar Pradesh (80 Lok Sabha seats).
In the 2019 elections, the BJP (23 seats) and the unified Shiv Sena (18 seats) combined to win 41 of the 48 seats.
Since then, regional giants Shiv Sena and NCP have split, rendering Maharashtra's politics splintered and poll outcomes challenging. Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the electoral battle in Baramati will be the most keenly watched.
Meanwhile, in the first phase of polling on April 19, the voters in five key constituencies, including Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara Gondia, Gadchiroli Chimur, and Chandrapur, will cast their votes.
In the second phase of voting for Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Maharashtra on April 26, 2024, will see polling in eight constituencies-- Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani.
The third phase of voting will take place across 11 constituencies on May 7 in Raigad, Baramati, Dharashiv, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, and Hatkanangle.
The fourth phase will be held on May 13, 2024 for seats including, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Sambhajinagar, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi and Beed.
