Maharashtra, Jharkhand Elections Date 2024 Highlights: Congress announces Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as its candidate for Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll

Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske says, "After seeing the results of the Haryana Assembly elections, they (Congress people) are mentally disturbed. They had spread a fake narrative of protecting the Constitution of India, during the Lok Sabha elections. But now the people know that Congress lies to them. Even when the Congress government was in power, voting was done through electronic means. Pakistan's government has said that they were on the same page as Congress on the Kashmir issue. They (Congress) should first give answers on that. Now, the people know the truth that's why they are not going behind the Congress party."

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has accused the EC of lacking independence and succumbing to pressure from the BJP just before the announcement of the Jharkhand Assembly election dates on Tuesday.

Manoj Pandey, a JMM leader in Ranchi, voiced his concerns, saying, "The election is to be announced today, but BJP leaders got information about it yesterday. This is a very serious matter. Does the commission work at the behest of BJP leaders? It is a serious matter to keep the commission as a puppet."

The official X handle of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha also tweeted, questioning the Election Commission's impartiality: "The boss has set everything up. What a scene! @ECISVEEP, will you say something?"

These allegations have surfaced as the Election Commission is set to reveal the schedule for the Jharkhand Assembly elections later today.

As opposition parties once again raised the bogey of EVM manipulation ahaed of the Election Commission announcement on poll dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday said that the public has answered the questions by participating in voting.

Speaking to ANI, Kumar said "The public answers questions by participating in the voting. As far as the EVMs are concerned, they are 100 per cent foolproof. If they raise questions today again, we will tell them again."

Earlier, Congress leader Rashid Alvi claimed that EVM's could be manipulated citing the example of Israel hacking pagers of militant outfit Hezbollah.

As the Assembly elections in Maharashtra approach, the two major political alliances, MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi, have declared their readiness to engage in the electoral contest.

MahaYuti, which consists of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is relying on its record of implementing various welfare and development initiatives to secure another term in office. On the other hand, Maha Vikas Aghadi is seeking to capitalize on the anti-incumbency sentiment among the electorate. Both alliances have suggested that the upcoming polls will be a matter of prestige for them.

The term of the Jharkhand State Assembly is set to expire on January 5, 2025, with elections scheduled for 81 constituencies (44 General, 9 SC, 28 ST) across the state.

Jharkhand is expected to hold elections for its 81-member legislative assembly by December 2024. In the 2019 elections, Jharkhand conducted polling in five phases, whereas Maharashtra had just one phase.

The forthcoming electoral battle in Maharashtra will witness a direct face-off between two major alliances: the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which consists of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, and the incumbent Mahayuti Alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

The BJP-led MYA suffered a setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls, securing only 17 out of the 48 parliamentary seats in Maharashtra. The BJP's tally plummeted to 9 seats from its previous count of 23 in the last general election. On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi--comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar)--emerged victorious in 30 constituencies.

In the 2019 assembly election, the BJP won 105 seats and the Congress won 44 seats. Although the BJP and the erstwhile united Shiv Sena initially formed the government in 2019, their alliance was short-lived due to political upheavals, ultimately leading to a split between the two parties.

Besides the general elections to the two assemblies, the EC can also announce bypolls to three Lok Sabha and at least 47 assembly seats which are lying vacant due to various reasons.

The three Lok Sabha seats which are vacant are Wayanad in Kerala, Nanded in Maharashtra and Basirhat in West Bengal.

The Wayanad seat was vacated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as he retained the Rae Bareli seat. He had won the Lok Sabha polls from both the seats.

Speaking on Maharashtra and Jharkhand poll dates to be announced today, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, "In Maharashtra, the opposition should put pressure to insist on voting by paper ballot and not EVMs. Otherwise, in Maharashtra, BJP govt and EC can do anything. If Israel can kill people by use of pagers and walkie-talkies, then where does EVM stand? The PM has very good relations with Israel. Israel is an expert in such things. EVM ka bada khel kahin bhi ho sakta hai aur uske liye BJP chunav se pehle yeh sab khel kar leti hai."

The Election Commission (EC) is set to announce the schedule for the upcoming assembly elections in the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The announcement will be made during a press conference at 3.30 pm today.

With Maharashtra's legislative term concluding on November 26 and Jharkhand's assembly term ending on January 5, 2025, the EC is expected to announce the dates for the polls. In a potential change from previous years, the EC may opt for fewer polling phases in Jharkhand, similar to its decision to reduce the number of phases in the recent Jammu and Kashmir elections.