Maharashtra Election 2024: High-octane campaign wraps up; 97 million voters to choose between Mahayuti and MVA

The high-ocatane election campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls ended on Monday. Polling will be held in all the 288 assembly seats on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback in battleground Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has about 9.7 crore (97 million) eligible voters, as per the updated voter list. This includes 4.97 crore male voters and 4.66 crores female voters. There are 1.85 crore young voters (age 18-29), including 20.93 lakh first-time voters (age 18-19).

The election campaign saw prominent leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes.

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 to help it retain power. The BJP’s use of slogans like "Batenge to katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines.

The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's use of "Batenge to katenge" and PM Modi's "Ek hai toh safe hai” slogans.

Slogan faced opposition

The slogan faced some opposition within the ruling alliance itself. Ajit Pawar, distanced himself from them. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans.

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.

On the last day of the campaign, the BJP launched a new advertisement 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.

As many as 4,136 candidates are contesting the elections.

(With PTI inputs)