Poll body announces when Maharashtra Assembly election will be held
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) met with political party representatives and senior officials in Mumbai on Saturday to discuss the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, who said that the elections must take place before November 26.
"We have come here for the preparedness of the upcoming assembly elections that are going to take place in Maharashtra," he said.
Poll consultation
Election Commission consults with parties on poll scheduling
Kumar revealed that the commission had consulted with leaders from 11 political parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Indian National Congress (INC), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Shiv Sena.
"They have asked us to consider the festivals like Diwali, Dev Diwali and Chhath Puja before announcing the dates of the elections," he said.
Election preference
Parties favor single-phase election after festive season
Most political parties are leaning toward holding the assembly elections in a single phase after the festive holidays.
Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale said, "We have demanded for the single-phase election and a hike in the election expenditure by ₹20 lakh."
Rashmi Shukla, Maharashtra's director general of police, told the ECI that they will be prepared if the polls are held in a single phase.
Election details
Maharashtra Assembly elections: Key details
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are set to take place across 288 constituencies, out of which 25 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 29 for the Scheduled Castes (SC).
The total number of electors in the state stands at 9.59 crore, which includes about 4.59 crore males and 4.64 crore females.
There are about 19.48 lakh first-time voters aged between 18 and 19 years.