Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly Elections Scheduled for November, Results on November 23

The Election Commission has announced that the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections will take place in November, marking the final round of state polls for 2024. Voting in Jharkhand will be conducted in two phases on November 13 and 20, while Maharashtra will vote in a single phase on November 20. The results for both states will be declared on November 23.

These elections are crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is aiming to maintain its momentum following a historic general election win in April-June that saw Narendra Modi secure a third term as Prime Minister, as well as its victory in the Haryana Assembly elections.

In Maharashtra, the BJP is in power through its alliance with factions of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that broke away from Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will rely on his flagship welfare scheme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, which provides a monthly stipend of ₹1,500 to women from low-income households, to attract voters. The ruling coalition, known as the Mahayuti, will be hoping for a better performance after securing just 17 of Maharashtra’s 48 parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

The ₹46,000-crore Ladki Bahin Yojana has been compared to the Ladli Behna Yojana of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, which helped the BJP retain power in that state despite facing anti-incumbency sentiment.

For the Congress, the upcoming elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are critical, especially after its unexpected loss in the Haryana Assembly elections, which the party was initially favored to win. The Congress also faced a setback in Jammu & Kashmir, where the National Conference (NC), with the support of independents and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), no longer required Congress support to form a government.

In Maharashtra, the Congress has been criticized by its ally, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction, for failing to effectively manage alliances and control internal discord. The Sena’s mouthpiece editorial specifically called out the Congress for not accommodating its partners and highlighted local leadership issues in Haryana, particularly regarding Bhupinder Hooda’s reluctance to work closely with the AAP during the campaign.

Additionally, bypolls have been scheduled for several Lok Sabha seats, including Wayanad in Kerala, which Rahul Gandhi vacated after winning the Raebareli seat in Uttar Pradesh.