The suspense surrounding the election dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand has finally ended today. The Election Commission has unveiled the election schedules for both states. Moreover, dates for by-elections for 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats have also been announced.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Rajeev Kumar, stated that Maharashtra will have elections in a single phase on November 20. In contrast, Jharkhand will experience two-phase polling, with votes being cast on November 13 and 20. The results for both these states will be revealed simultaneously on November 23.
Maharashtra houses 288 assembly seats, and securing a government requires a coalition to obtain 145 seats. Meanwhile, Jharkhand's assembly consists of 81 seats, and any party must capture 42 seats to form a government.
By-Election Announcement for 48 Assembly Seats
In addition, by-elections have been declared for 48 assembly and 2 Lok Sabha seats. The by-election for 47 assembly seats will take place on November 13, while voting for the Kedarnath assembly seat is scheduled for November 20.
Lok Sabha By-Elections for Two Seats
By-elections will also occur for two Lok Sabha seats, divided into two phases. Specifically, voting for Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat is set for November 13, while ballots for Maharashtra's Nanded Lok Sabha seat will be cast on November 20. The outcomes of these by-elections will coincide with the results of the two states on November 23.
Source: aajtak
Why a By-Election in Wayanad?
Following Rahul Gandhi's resignation, a by-election is taking place in Kerala's Wayanad seat. Earlier this year, during the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from two seats—Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli in UP—and won both. He subsequently decided to vacate the Wayanad seat and continue as a Member of Parliament from Rae Bareli. As a result, a by-election is now being held in Wayanad.
Reason Behind Nanded By-Election
Additionally, the Nanded by-election will occur on November 20 on Maharashtra's Nanded Lok Sabha seat. This seat was vacated following the demise of Congress leader Vasantrao Balwant Rao Chavan on August 26. He had defeated BJP's Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar, securing 528,894 votes compared to Chikhalikar's 469,452 votes in the Lok Sabha election.
