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In the first major elections since Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed to power at the Centre on a pledge to reform the economy, his party the BJP dumped allies in both states and has banked solely on what it calls the "Modi wave," turning this into a test of his popularity.
"Urging the people of Haryana and Maharashtra to go out and cast their votes. Youngsters must show the way and ensure record turnout," Prime Minister Modi tweeted this morning. In Maharashtra, today's newspapers were covered in advertisements for the BJP with large pictures of Mr Modi calling on the electorate to choose "an honest and stable government".
Mr Modi campaigned extensively in the two states. He needs big wins in today's elections to up his government's numbers in the Rajya Sabha to be able to push reforms through Parliament. The BJP-led NDA is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, whose composition is based on seats won in regional assemblies.
In Maharashtra, two alliances - the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party - came apart over seat sharing days before voting, making this a four-cornered contest with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Narvnirman Sena or MNS providing a fifth.
In this morning's edition of his party's newspaper Saamna, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray made his most direct reference yet to his chief ministerial ambitions. "If a 'chaiwala' can become the prime minister, I can definitely become the state's chief minister," Mr Thackeray, 54, said, in reference to PM Modi's younger days as a tea seller.
Who would be chief minister was at the core of the BJP's fallout with the Shiv Sena, its ally of 25 years. The BJP has not projected anyone as its candidate for CM, but Maharashtra unit chief Devendra Fadnavis and senior leader Eknath Khadse are said to be frontrunners.
In Haryana, the BJP, the Congress and OP Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) will slug it out. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, 67, Haryana's chief minister for the last decade played badminton in Rohtak this morning as the state began to vote. He is seeking a third term.
The front runners for chief minister if the BJP wins in Haryana are Captain Abhimanyu, a young former Armyman and Jat leader, and union minister Rao Inderjeet Singh, who was earlier this year imported from the Congress.
The BJP had harvested a bumper crop in the national elections this year in both states. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine had picked up 42 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, decimating the competition. Of these the BJP had the bigger share at 23. In Haryana, the BJP had won seven of 10 Lok Sabha seats.
Almost 10 crore people are eligible to vote today. Votes will be counted on Sunday.
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