Maharashtra to vote on Nov 20; Jharkhand polls on Nov 13 & 20

New Delhi, Oct 15: The Election Commission has announced that the assembly elections in Maharashtra will occur in a single phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will hold its elections in two phases on November 13 and 20. The results for both states will be revealed on November 23.

Maharashtra's assembly consists of 288 seats, whereas Jharkhand has 81. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar detailed the election timeline, stating that the notification for Maharashtra will be released on October 22, with nominations opening on the same day and closing on October 29. Scrutiny of the nominations will take place on October 30, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 4.

For Jharkhand, the notifications will be issued on October 18 and 22, with nominations opening on those dates. The last dates for filing candidatures are October 25 and 29, with scrutiny scheduled for October 28 and 30. Withdrawal deadlines are set for October 30 and November 1.

The model code of conduct is now in effect following the announcement of the election schedule. The CEC emphasized efforts to address urban voter apathy and indicated that a meeting would be held to discuss this further.

Maharashtra has an electorate of approximately 9.63 crore, including about 4.77 crore men and 4.66 crore women, while Jharkhand's electorate totals around 2.6 crore, with 1.31 crore men and 1.29 crore women. The Commission will establish a total of 100,186 polling stations across 25,789 locations in Maharashtra and 29,562 polling stations across 20,281 locations in Jharkhand.