ECI announces dates for Maharashtra, Jharkhand assembly polls

The Election Commission (EC) has announced the dates for the upcoming elections to the legislative assemblies of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In Maharashtra, voting will take place on 20 November, while in Jharkhand, it will be held in two phases, on 13 and 20 November.

The results will be declared on 23 November for both states. 

While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on 26 November, the term of Jharkhand's assembly will conclude on 5 January 2025. 

In addition to these elections, by-elections will be held in Kerala's Wayanad on 13 November and in Maharashtra's Nanded on 20 November.

In West Bengal, by-elections will be held for six seats: Taldangra, Sitai, Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Madarihat. These seats became vacant after their respective MLAs contested and won Lok Sabha seats.

These polls were postponed earlier this year, with the delay attributed to the security arrangements required for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, per chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar. 

The EC has also announced by-polls for 2 Lok Sabha seats and 48 vacant assembly seats across the country. Five seats in Assam, seven in Rajasthan, four in Bihar, six in West Bengal, three in Karnataka, two in Kerala, four in Punjab, nine in Uttar Pradesh, two in Sikkim, one in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have been announced too.  

Maharashtra elections 

For Maharashtra, all 288 assembly constituencies will vote on 20 November. The election notification will be issued on 22 October, with the last date for nominations being 29 October.  

The scrutiny of nominations will take place on 30 October, and candidates can withdraw their nominations by 4 November. Maharashtra has a total of 36 districts, 288 constituencies and 9.63 crore voters, with over 1 lakh polling stations across more than 52,000 locations. 

Jharkhand elections 

In Jharkhand, the election will take place in two phases, covering 81 assembly constituencies. The notification for the first phase will be issued on 18 October, with the second phase notification following on 22 October.

The last date for nominations will be 25 October for the first phase and 29 October for the second.  

Nomination scrutiny will occur on 28 October for the first phase and 30 October for the second phase, with the final date for candidate withdrawals set for 30 October and 1 November, respectively.  

The state has an electorate of over 2.6 crore voters, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters.

Key constituencies going to the polls in Phase 1 include Kodarma, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur (East and West), Chaibasa, Khunti, Ranchi and Lohardaga.

Phase 2 will include the constituencies of Jamtara, Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, Jamua, Dumri, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Jharia. 

Uttar Pradesh by-elections 

In Uttar Pradesh, nine Assembly seats were vacated after the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. The assembly seats where bypolls were due are: Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).  

Elections have been announced for all these seats, except for Milkipur, which falls within the Ayodhya constituency. Milkipur will not go to the polls due to an ongoing court case related to the 2022 Assembly elections, said the CEC during the press conference.  

In that election, Awadesh Prasad, the current MP from Faizabad, won the Milkipur seat, while his opponent, BJP's Baba Gorakhnath, contested the results in court.

After Prasad's win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he resigned as an MLA. But the case seems to be pending.

Additionally, the Sishamau seat (Kanpur city) has been vacated following the disqualification of sitting Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki, who was sentenced by a court in a criminal case.

Concerns on voter apathy 

CEC Kumar also addressed concerns about voter apathy, particularly in urban areas. He highlighted that Colaba in Mumbai saw a mere 40 per cent voter turnout during the recent Lok Sabha elections, which he described as “not a good sign” for Maharashtra, a state with a significant urban population.  

“We’ll do everything to address this,” he affirmed, pointing to Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, where over 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded. “If they can vote, Colaba can also vote,” he remarked, adding that some affluent localities in Faridabad and Gurugram also posted alarmingly low turnouts of around 20 per cent.

CEC's views on exit polls and media conduct 

CEC Rajiv Kumar expressed his concerns about the impact of exit polls, stating that they often distract voters and the public. “Exit polls have been wrong before,” he said, noting discrepancies between exit poll predictions and actual election results.  

While acknowledging that the EC does not regulate exit polls, he suggested that the media should introspect about their conduct.

He also criticised the premature broadcast of “leads” by news outlets as counting begins, saying, “This is nonsense.”

He pointed out that results are only officially published on the Election Commission's website after a round of counting is completed. 

On electronic voting machines (EVMs) 

Regarding the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), CEC Kumar addressed the 20 complaints the EC has received. "We are in the process of addressing them individually," he assured.  

He emphasised the rigorous checks that EVMs undergo, including first-level checks, randomisation and second randomisation, all conducted in the presence of political party representatives.  

Additionally, the batteries used in EVMs are installed only on the day of the election and are similar to those used in calculators, ensuring they last quite long. Kumar also outlined the three-layer security in place at strongrooms where EVMs are stored, which he said were “established even before I joined.”