Maharashtra election 2024: Dates, parties and voting time details explained

Maharashtra election Date: High-stakes showdown for 288 Assembly seats on November 20. Read on to find out the key players, polling details, and what's at stake in this contest

As the term of the Maharashtra Assembly draws to a close on November 26, the state is gearing up for a high-stakes electoral battle. Voting for all 288 seats of the Maharashtra legislative Assembly will take place in a single phase on November 20, 2024.

 

Key constituencies and candidates 

Of the 288 Assembly constituencies, 234 seats are categorised as general, while 29 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 25 for Scheduled Tribes (ST). This election will see 4,140 candidates contesting, according to the state chief electoral office. 

Exit poll maharashtra 2024 Updates  

"We received 7,078 valid nomination forms for 288 seats. Of these, 2,938 candidates have withdrawn nominations, leaving 4,140 in the fray," a senior official told PTI.

 

Key events on the election timeline 

• Gazette notification issued: October 22, 2024

• Last date for nominations: October 29, 2024

• Scrutiny of nominations: October 30, 2024

• Withdrawal deadline: November 4, 2024

• Polling date: November 20, 2024

• Counting of votes: November 23, 2024

Major players in the political battlefield 

The Maharashtra assembly polls will witness a fierce contest between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

 

Mahayuti 

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Contesting 148 seats

• Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena: Contesting 80 seats

• Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Ajit): Contesting 53 seats

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) 

• Congress: Contesting 103 seats

• Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT): Contesting 89 seats

• Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP): Contesting 87 seats

• Remaining six seats allocated to MVA allies

The voter base in Maharashtra 

With over 97 million eligible voters, Maharashtra boasts one of the largest electorates in the country. Key voter demographics include:

 

• 18-19 years age group: 22,22,704 voters

• Centenarians (100+ years): 47,392 voters (oldest voter aged 109)

• Gender breakdown:

            ​​- Men: 5,00,22,739    - Women: 4,69,96,279    - Third gender: 6,101

Maharashtra polling details 

Voting will be held on November 20, 2024, from 7 am to 6 pm across all constituencies. A dry day will be observed in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra during polling hours.

 

Exit polls and results 

Exit poll predictions are expected after voting concludes on November 20. As per the Election Commission guidelines, these can only be aired after 6:30 pm.  Jharkhand Exit Poll 2024 

 

Counting of votes will take place on November 23, 2024, determining the political direction of one of India’s most crucial states.