New Delhi, September 21: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced dates for Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The elections in the state will be held in a single-phase on October 21. The counting of votes will take place on October 24. The results for the assembly elections is expected to be declared on the same day. The term of 13th Legislative Assembly will expire on November 9, 2019. With the announcement of dates, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has immediately come into force. Live Updates: ECI Announcing Details of Assembly Elections 2019 Schedule.

The total registered voter size in Maharashtra is 8.64 crore, said Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. The expenditure per candidate has been capped at Rs 25-28 lakh, the CEC added, further stating that two special observers will be deployed in the state to check the violation of poll expenditure limits.

Assembly Elections 2019 Schedule For Maharashtra & Haryana

  • Notification to be issued on September 27.

  • Last date of nominations: October 4.

  • Scrutiny of nominations is October 5.

  • Last date for withdrawal is October 7.

  • Date of polls for both the states is October 21.

  • Counting of votes is scheduled on October 24.

In 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Shiv Sena government will be looking to retain the power, while the main opposition Indian National Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will try to get a majority in 288-member assembly.

2014 Maharashtra Assembly Election Results

Party Seats Won
BJP 122
Shiv Sena 63
Congress-NCP 83
Others 19

The BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP haven't announced their candidates for assembly polls yet. The voting will take place through VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail). According to the 2011 national census, Maharashtra has a population of 112,374,333.

In the 2014 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections, the BJP won 122 seats, while the Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP managed to bag 63, 42 and 41 seats, respectively. The Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi (BVA) bagged three seats, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won two-seat. The voting was held on October 15, 2014.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 21, 2019 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).