Revisit: ETV Bharat's special stories on Maha Assembly polls

ETV Bharat has been publishing special stories and packages on its website since the election dates have been announced. Let us revisit the stories related to Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Hyderabad: With polling in Maharashtra scheduled for today, the electoral fate of 3237 candidates in Maharashtra will be sealed in EVMs. In Maharashtra, 96,661 polling stations have been set up for people to cast their votes.

The polling for 288 Assembly seats of Maharashtra will start at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. The counting of votes will take place on October 24.

For Maharashtra Assembly elections, 40,000 police personnel will be deployed in Mumbai and drones will be used for surveillance as part of security arrangements, Mumbai Police had earlier said.

Maharashtra police will also maintain strict vigil throughout the state with its personnel deployed for election duties in all districts along with home guards, companies of CAPF and CRPF for the polling day.

BJP is contesting 150 seats in 288-member Maharashtra Assembly while its ally Shiv Sena has fielded 124 candidates. The remaining seats have been left for smaller allies.

Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra.

Campaigning in Maharashtra for the Assembly elections, 2019 concluded on Saturday.
The Model Code of Conduct came into force on September 21 after the Election Commission of India announced Assembly election dates.

During the campaign period, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi were among national leaders campaigned in the state. NCP chief Sharad Pawar campaigned extensively in Maharashtra.

The elections are significant as it is the first assembly polls after Modi steered the BJP-led NDA to a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year for a successive second term at the Centre.

Apart from testing the fortunes of ruling BJP and incumbent Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra pose a tough challenge to the Opposition bloc, especially to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, beset with defections to the ruling camp.

Maharashtra will go for polls on 21st of October to elect the new legislative assembly. In Maharashtra BJP- Shiv Sena alliance is on the one hand and Congress-NCP alliance on the other. Take a look at who are the prominent faces for the assembly elections.

The Vidhan Sabha election in Maharashtra is mainly a battle of two big alliances - the BJP and Shiv Sena on one hand, and the Congress-NCP on the other.

Several smaller parties have allied themselves with either of these two groups.

The BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (A), Shiv Sangram, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Rayat Kranti Sanghatana are standing on one side facing their opponents on the other, which comprises of the Congress, NCP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Peasants and Workers Party, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Peoples Republican Party and the Samajwadi Party.

The election commission in Maharashtra has set up around 97,640 polling booths ahead of the assembly polls on 21st October. In order to ensure free and fair elections in the state, authorities have identified over 2,762 booths as 'sensitive' which they suspect may create law and order problems during the elections.

To avoid any criminal activities from taking place, The NCP on Sunday wrote to the Maharashtra State Election Commission seeking an order to stop internet services within a three-kilometre radius of every poll booth and strong room. It claimed that hacking is possible by professional hackers using mobile internet.

Ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls on October 21st, special arrangements have been made for women, specially-abled and senior citizen voters in every booth. EVMs are also being handed over to every booth.

The campaign for the Maharashtra assembly elections came to end on Saturday evening. The BJP is contesting 164 seats, while Sena has fielded candidates on 126 seats. On the other hand, the Congress has fielded 147 candidates and its ally NCP 121.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on the last day of assembly elections campaigning, held a massive roadshow in Nagpur city to garner votes for BJP. Voting in the state is scheduled to be held on October 21.

In Maharashtra's Raigad district, where Peasants and Workers Party enjoys a stronghold is likely to notice a close contest in six out of its seven Assembly constituencies in the upcoming state polls which are scheduled to be held on Monday.

The Election Commission has seized over ₹78 lakh unaccounted cash in poll-bound Maharashtra's Colaba constituency on Friday. The EC also seized ₹2.19 crore on Thursday from five persons in the same constituency. Notably, over ₹15 crore cash was seized by the EC since the Model Code of Conduct came into force for Assembly Election in the state.

Out of the 288 constituencies in Maharashtra, the fate of 75 constituencies might very well be decided by rebels. Data shows that the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena, in particular, will be the ones majorly affected by rebel candidates.

Interestingly in this election, there are a few candidates in fray whose fathers are in active politics. This club includes stalwarts like Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray, MP Sunil Tatkare’s daughter Aditi Tatkare, Eknath Khadse’s daughter Rohini Khadse, Narayan Rane’s son Nitesh Rane, former chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s daughter Praniti Shinde, and Raosaheb Danwe’s son Santosh Danwe.

Though the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance holds an edge over the Congress-NCP in Vidarbha, Marathwada and Northern Maharashtra; the neighbouring regions of Mumbai-Konkan and Western Maharashtra with 146 seats, are expected to be extremely decisive in determining who forms the next government in Maharashtra.