Maharashtra News: Eknath Shinde hints November dates for Assembly polls - Here are 8 key things to know

Maharashtra assembly elections, which were expected to be held along with Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, are most likely to be held in the month of November. Though the election schedule is yet to be officially announced, preparations by political parties are in full swing as polls could be held in the second or third week of November. The term of the current assembly will last till the end of November.

1) Why no elections in October?

In August, while announcing the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana polls schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were held along with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security requirements for Jammu and Kashmir. The EC also cited various factors including rain, festivals such as Ganpati, Pitru Paksha, Navratri, Diwali.

2) Parties and alliances

Mahayuti: The ruling government partners comprise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ajit Pawar-headed NCP, and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Maha Vikas Aghadi: The Opposition-led alliance comprises Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

3) Will Raj Thackeray's MNS take a leap?

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it was predicted that Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) would join hands with the BJP and could field candidates on at least two Lok Sabha seats, including one in Mumbai. However, Thackeray announced unconditional support to Narendra Modi. Now, Raj Thackeray has announced his intention to contest 200 to 250 seats independently. The MNS chief has also announced candidates for two seats — Bala Nandgaonkar from Shivadi in Mumbai and Dilip Dhotre from Pandharpur.

In the 2009 assembly elections, the MNS won 13 seats. In 2014, it won just one seat. In 2019, Thackeray appealed to people to make the party a strong opposition in the state. However, only one candidate was elected, while the party hardly managed to get a 2.5 percent vote share. Now, it will have to be seen whether Raj Thackeray forges an alliance or if he goes solo.

4) Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA played spoilsport for Congress-NCP on at least 13 seats. In assembly polls, it managed to garner a 5.5 percent vote share. In 2024, VBA was part of the INDIA grouping before election. However, as talks on seat-sharing failed, VBA walked out of the opposition bloc. Further, it failed to make any impact, except making some dent in five seats. After the Lok Sabha election results, VBA leader Sujat Ambedkar said "We are not a moment, We are a Movement." What VBA decides about fielding candidates will be known as election dates are announced.

5) Seat sharing

Neither Maha Vikas Aghadi nor Mahyuti have finalised their seat sharing pact as talks are still underway in the preliminary stage. The BJP might contest around 140 to 150 seats. Whereas, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena could contest 80 seats, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP may field candidates in 55 seats. However, Eknath Shinde's camp is seeking over 100 seats citing strike-rate in Lok Sabha polls. With a boost in the Lok Sabha polls, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners are also citing their strike-rate to get more seats in the kitty, and the seat-sharing is likely to be finalised soon.

6) Will the CM face be announced?

It is unclear whether MVA or Mahayuti will announce the CM face. Last month, Uddhav Thackeray asked the NCP (SP) and Congress to decide on a chief ministerial face for the Maha Vikas Aghadi. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar had asserted that there was no need for the MVA to declare a CM face. MVA leaders say that their focus is on bringing change in the government.

7) Mahayuti banking on schemes

Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government is banking on announcement of various schemes, especially, financial assistance under the government's Ladki Bahin scheme. CM Shinde has also said if people give a "bigger mandate" to the ruling Mahayuti, the government would double the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme's monthly financial assistance amount to ₹3,000. BJP leader and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has repeatedly said that they will have to counter ‘fake narrative’  by the Opposition which maligns the image of the government.

8) MVA to counter Mahayuti on several issues

The Maha Vikas Aghadi has already been targeting government on several issues, including the law and order and safety of women, especially on the backdrop of Badlapur incident. Apart from that, the Opposition alliance is also cornering the ruling government on the issues of Maratha quota row, farmers issues, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse, among others.