Maharashtra, Haryana to vote in Assembly elections on October 21; results to be declared on October 24

The Election Commission on Saturday announced the dates for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently in power in both the states. This is the first electoral battle after the NDA won the Lok Sabha elections 2019 with a thumping majority. While the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is at stake in Maharashtra, the battle is about the prestige of Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana. While the BJP has expressed confidence of performing even better than the previous Assembly elections, the Congress and others like the NCP have declared that they would leave no stone unturned in their attempts.

Here are the live updates:

21 September 2019

12:38 IST

By-elections to 64 constituencies across Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, MP, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh to be held on October 21, counting on October 24.

CEC: By-elections to 64 constituencies across Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, MP, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana &Uttar Pradesh, to be held on Oct 21 ;counting on Oct 24 pic.twitter.com/qs1EXsEVbV

— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2019

12:28 IST

Important dates for Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana:

Last date of nomination: October 4
Last date of scrutiny of nomination: October 5
Last date for withdrawal of nomination: October 7
Polling date: October 21
Counting of votes: October 24

12:22 IST

Polling in Maharashtra and Haryana to be held on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24.

12:21 IST

The elections should be finished before Dhanteras, says CEC.

12:16 IST

There are 8.94 crore registered voters in Maharashtra while in Haryana, there are 1.82 crore registered voters.

12:15 IST

Election Commission asks parties to refrain from using plastic during campaigns.

12:11 IST

Candidates will have to furnish details about criminal cases against them. The nomination will be rejected if any column is not filled.

12:08 IST

Transaction of money by candidates and parties through banks would be monitored, says CEC.

12:07 IST

CEC says Election Commission of India "feels privileged and honoured in playing its assigned role to renew democracy at national and state levels as mandated by the constitution of India".

12:05 IST

CEC Sunil Arora says all voters in Haryana have voter ID cards.

12:04 IST

The tenure of Maharashtra Assembly gets over on November 9 while that of Haryana Assembly on November 2.

12:01 IST

Election Commission announces dates for Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

11:47 IST

Regional wise division of Assembly constituencies across the state is-- 60 constituencies in Mumbai and Thane district, 15 constituencies in Konkan district, 46 constituencies in Marathawada district, 70 constituencies in western Maharashtra, 62 constituencies in Vidarbha district, and 35 in north Maharashtra.

11:46 IST

Total seats in the rural areas of the state are 135, of urban areas are 100, and 53 of regions adjoining rural and urban areas.

11:46 IST

Total numbers of voters who will exercise their franchise is 8,94,46,211. Out of this, 4,67,37,841 are male voters and 4,27,05,777 are female voters.

11:46 IST

There are a total of 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra, of which 234 have been allocated to General category, 29 to Scheduled Caste (SC), and 25 seats to Scheduled Tribe (ST).

11:45 IST

In the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, Congress 42 and NCP 41 seats. However, some of the lawmakers in the 288-member Assembly shifted to the ruling alliance. REGION-WISE BREAK UP OF 2014 RESULTS