PUNE: Polling began on Wednesday morning in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback.
Voting began in all the 288 Assembly seats at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23.
In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition’s MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.
Meanwhile, polling for 38 Assembly seats in the second and final phase of Jharkhand elections also commenced on Wednesday, amid tight security arrangements.
Altogether 528 candidates, including Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri of the BJP, are trying their luck in the second phase of the elections.
Polling for by-elections to Kedarnath Assembly seat in Uttarakhand, nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala’s Palakkad Assembly constituency are also under way.