Maha campaign ends, polls tomorrow

Mumbai: The election campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls ended on Monday, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback.

Polling will be held in all the 288 assembly seats on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.

The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power. The BJP's use of slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's use of "Batenge toh katenge" and PM Modi's "Ek hai toh safe hai” slogans. Not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar, distanced himself from them. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.

The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine’s rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.

Ahead of the elections, the BJP on Monday launched a new ad campaign attacking the opposition MVA and urging people to “Say No to Congress.” The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar. The BJP is contesting the November 20 elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.

The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates. Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House.

The number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this time compared to the 2019 state assembly elections. This year, 4,136 candidates are contesting, up from 3,239 in 2019. Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party’s official nominees.

The number of registered voters has increased to 9,63,69,410, up from 8,94,46,211 in 2019, with addition of 69,23,199 new voters. An election official said this rise is due to special enrolment drives focused on younger and first-time voters. The number of first-time voters, aged 18-19, is now 20,93,206, he said.

The state electorate also includes 6,36,278 voters with disabilities and 1,16,355 voters from the armed forces. Of the total electorate, 12,43,192 voters are over the age of 85, with as many as 47,716 centenarians, according to the official. There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections.

This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters. Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties.