Maharashtra has officially begun voting for the 2024 Assembly Elections, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. across all 288 constituencies. The results are expected to be announced on November 23. The campaign concluded on Monday, featuring appeals from notable leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who encouraged voters to come out in large numbers.

This election will see a face-off between two prominent alliances: the ruling 'Mahayuti' coalition, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the Indian National Congress (INC), Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), 4,136 candidates are contesting the state elections, marking a 27.7% increase from the previous election. To facilitate the voting process, 1,00,186 polling stations have been set up across 52,789 locations, serving roughly 9.7 crore eligible voters. Notably, 388 of these stations are "pink booths," operated exclusively by women.

A survey conducted between September 21 and October 6, 2024, by Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the MIT-School of Government (MIT-SOG) revealed the top voter concerns: unemployment and inflation, with 24% and 22% of respondents identifying them as primary issues. Agricultural challenges, particularly low minimum support prices (MSPs) and increasing input costs, were also significant concerns for rural voters.

The demand for caste-based reservations has become another major issue, leading to tensions, especially between the Maratha and OBC communities. In addition, the recent death of a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and a controversial police encounter in Badlapur have fueled opposition criticisms of the state's current law and order situation under the leadership of Eknath Shinde.

Key Updates in the Maharashtra Election 2024
Uddhav Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), has accused the BJP of engaging in a "note jihad" to win votes, referencing allegations that BJP's Vinod Tawde distributed cash in Palghar. Tawde has dismissed the accusations as groundless.

Supriya Sule from NCP (SP) has taken legal steps against BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi, filing both a complaint with the Election Commission and a defamation lawsuit. Trivedi had accused Sule and Congress's Nana Patole of using cryptocurrency funds to manipulate the election.

The Election Commission of India has restricted political advertisements in print media on November 19 and 20, unless pre-approved by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

Mumbai's voter registration has crossed 1 crore, an increase from 98.95 lakh during the recent Lok Sabha elections.

In Navi Mumbai, police have introduced a QR code system, allowing voters to access information on polling booth locations, parking availability, and crowd status with a single click.

A case has been filed against four unknown individuals following an incident involving NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh, who was injured by stone-pelting in Nagpur on November 18 while returning from a campaign event.

Both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) are closed today due to the ongoing Maharashtra assembly elections.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Zeeshan Siddiqui, running in Bandra East, voted today. Siddiqui, who recently joined the NCP, paid homage to his late father, Baba Siddiqui, noting this was his first time voting without his father.