Maharashtra assembly elections likely only after Diwali

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (right) Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Maharashtra Assembly polls are expected to be held after Diwali in November this year, instead of October, giving the Mahayuti government at least a month more in office before it takes on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). On Friday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) parted with the practice of holding Maharashtra elections together with Haryana's.

The ECI said on Friday, while announcing the schedule for Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, that it needed more time to get ready in monsoon-hit Maharashtra. J&K will go to the polls in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. Haryana's voting is scheduled for October 1. Results of both elections will be declared on October 4. As compared to the 2019 programme, Haryana's schedule has been advanced by 20 days. Both Haryana and Maharashtra held polling on October 21 five years ago.

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Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu during the press conference. Pic/PTI

More time means the Shinde government will get more time to woo voters with sops, grants and infra projects, some of which are likely to get inaugurated before the elections. When the Model Code of Conduct is in force, the ECI does not allow policy decisions through which the voters get influenced during the election process which is held over 30-45 days. The festivals such as Ganeshotsav, Navratri and Diwali to be held between September and November will offer the ruling and opposite parties an opportunity to connect with the masses, though the model code, if in force then, will bar them from public campaigning.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in New Delhi that four elections were due this year and by early next year, and since J&K was not in the picture last time (2019-20), the commission decided to group two Assembly elections together. Besides J&K and Haryana, elections are due in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. According to Kumar, the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were held together with Haryana in 2019, would be announced later due to security requirements for J&K.

Kumar said the next set of elections would be announced after the completion of the polls in J&K and Haryana. He added that the commission needed some time for preparation in Maharashtra because a lot of groundwork was delayed due to the monsoon. He also said that there were several festivals such as Ganeshotsav, Navratri and Diwali between September and October this year. So, the schedule for a large state like Maharashtra would have to be worked accordingly.

According to senior state officers, the next Maharashtra Legislative Assembly must be formed and convened on or before November 26, 2024. Generally, the Model Code of Conduct becomes effective at least 45 days before the new Legislative Assembly is formed. The festival of Diwali will end on November 3. Voting may take place in the second week of November, leaving enough days for the formation of the house.

With inputs from agencies