All arrangements have been put in place for assembly elections in Maharashtra tomorrow. Polling for all 288 seats will be held in a single phase in the state.
Voting, which will begin at 7 AM, will end at 6 PM. While the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a comeback in the state. A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray which include 2,086 independent contenders. The BJP is contesting in 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and 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 All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Assembly.
Election Commission is taking various initiatives to increase poll percentage this time. Akashvani’s correspondent reports, that under the SVEEP programme, the Election Commission is running multi-media campaigns to encourage voters to come out and vote in large numbers.
Additionally, the administration at district level are undertaking voter awareness activities including door-to-door visits, human chains, morning processions or Prabhat Pheri, street plays, bicycle and bike rallies, marathons, voter oaths and various competitions etc.
The Central Bureau of Communication arranged a Voter Awareness Van that travelled across 15 districts including areas with historically low voter turnout to spread awareness regarding voting procedures, polling station locations, the model code of conduct etc.
For the first time, the Election Commission of India has appointed the BMC municipal commissioner as the district election officer for both districts in the city. Interestingly, the Mumbai Chapter of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has announced a special incentive called the “Democracy Discount” that promises voters a 20% dining discount at select establishments in the city.
