The term of the Maharashtra Assembly will expire on November 26, and the term of the Jharkhand Assembly will conclude on January 5, 2025.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to announce the schedule for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections on Tuesday, October 15, at 3:30 pm.
The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will complete its term on November 26, while the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly will conclude its term on January 5, 2025.
In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), will face off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
In Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), part of the INDIA alliance, will compete against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which consists of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United), and the BJP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release its first list of over 60 candidates for the Maharashtra elections in the next two days, once it is approved by the central election committee (CEC), according to sources familiar with the matter.
BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a marathon meeting on Monday in New Delhi with key leaders from the party’s Maharashtra unit, along with state election in-charges Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Maharashtra unit of the party has shortlisted around 100 candidates, including sitting MLAs, for the central election committee (CEC) to make its final selections from.
Meanwhile, the Congress party also held a meeting to strategize for the Maharashtra assembly elections, focusing on key issues such as seat-sharing with allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and discussing electoral promises.
The party is determined to avoid the missteps that contributed to its recent defeat in the Haryana elections. The meeting, chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi, was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, and senior leader Balasaheb Thorat.
