16 March,2024 05:02 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Nitin Gandkari, Eknath Shinde and Sharad Pawar. File Pic
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced that elections in Maharashtra will be held in five phases. The ECI also shared the schedule for the upcoming elections.
The Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.
With a total of 48 constituencies in the state, the electoral process will unfold in multiple phases to ensure a smooth and efficient voting process.
In the first phase, scheduled for April 19, 2024, voters in five key constituencies, including Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara Gondia, Gadchiroli Chimur, and Chandrapur, will cast their votes.
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The second phase of voting, slated for April 26, 2024, will see polling in eight constituencies, including Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani.
On May 7, 2024, the third phase of voting will take place across 11 constituencies, covering regions such as Raigad, Baramati, Dharashiv, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, and Hatkanangle.
The fourth phase will be held on May 13, 2024 for seats including, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Sambhajinagar, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi and Beed.
The fifth and final phase of voting will take place on May 20, 2024, encompassing 13 constituencies, including Washim, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Welfare, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South Central, and Mumbai South.
In Maharashtra, the ruling NDA, comprising BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will take on state-level opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine of Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT) in the fight for 48 Lok Sabha seats.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is part of the INDIA bloc in the key swing state, which send the second highest number of MPs to the Lower House after Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats.
In 2019 polls, BJP (23 seats) and the undivided Shiv Sena (18) were together and put up an impressive show, winning 41 of the 48 seats.
Since then, regional heavyweights Shiv Sena and the NCP have suffered splits, making Maharashtra's politics fragmented and poll outcome difficult to predict.
Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the electoral battle in Baramati will be the most keenly watched one in the ensuing elections.
(with PTI inputs)
