Elections live: Last month, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir went to polls.
The Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for Maharashtra this afternoon. Voting in Maharashtra will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later on November 23. Meanwhile, Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20. Counting for both states will take place on November 23. The Chief Election Commissioner said with elections, were are setting gold standards, referring to the 'free and fair elections' in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising a then unified Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with the Congress, had won 154 of 288 seats. This time, the Shiv Sena and NCP split into two factions.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is ready to lock horns with the BJP. In the 2019 elections, JMM won 30 seats and formed the government with the Congress, which has won 16 seats.
Here are the Highlights on the big story:
Priyanka Gandhi To Make Poll Debut After Wayanad Bypoll Announced
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced bypolls to Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala and Nanded seat in Maharashtra. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is likely to make her election debut from Wayanad.
Wayanad's seat was vacated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he was also elected to Lok Sabha from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh in the general elections held earlier this year.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced in June that Rahul Gandhi would retain Raebareli, a traditional seat of the Gandhi family and vacate his Wayanad seat where the party will field Priyanka Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi won Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad in 2019 and 2024 and is now the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Bypolls To 4 Bihar Assembly Seats On November 13
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced that by-elections to four Assembly constituencies of Bihar - Belaganj, Imamganj, Tarari, and Ramgarh - will be held on November 13.
According to an official letter from poll panel's Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Prasad, the counting of votes will be held on November 23.
The election process will officially begin with the issuance of a gazette notification on October 18, allowing candidates to start filing their nominations.
The last date for filing nominations was October 25, while the scrutiny will be completed by October 28. The last date for withdrawing nomination is October 30.
This schedule provides a clear timeline for the by-elections in these four crucial constituencies in Bihar.
Poll Body Chief Expresses Concern Over Low Voter Turnout In Urban Areas
Expressing concern over urban apathy affecting voter turnout, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday said that polling days in Maharashtra and Jharkhand have been kept mid-week so that more people vote.
Assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20, and in Jharkhand in two phases on November 13 and 20.
The EC has been flagging the issue of low polling in urban centres including those like Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, and has been taking a number of steps to increase voter awareness.
In the past, it has been seen that urban voters tend to club weekends with the polling day holiday for getaways, etc, and skip polling.
Kumar appealed to voters in urban areas to participate in elections and said polling days in Maharashtra and Jharkhand have both been kept mid-week so that the issue of urban apathy can be handled.
Chief Election Commissioner Responds To Queries On EVMs
"Before 5-6 months of polls, checking begins. At every step of the EVM process, political parties or their agents are present. We put in a new battery and after sealing there are signatures of the agent. There's 3-layer of security including CAPF and observers. The process is videographed. The EVM numbers are also shared. When polls are closed, even then we take signatures. How much more can we show? On counting day, it goes inside barricading. There's a provision for objecting to any of this at any stage which did not happen," Mr Rajiv Kumar said.
"It has a single-use battery which can be used for 5-7 days. It's like a calculator battery. We have made a provision. It is initially marked as it's 99 per cent and charged. It can differ based on the voltage difference. When it drops to 5.8%, it gives a signal," he said.
"Matter Of Introspection For Media": Chief Election Commissioner On Exit Polls
"Because of exit polls and expectations set by them a big distortion is being created. This is a matter of introspection. We need to consider the sample size, what was the result. If my result doesn't match with the actual result, we need to think about it," CEC Rajiv Kumar said.
"It creates an expectation which has no scientific basis. The leads shown at 8.05 and 8.10 are nonsense. The counting starts at 8.30. Is it to validate the exit polls? We reflect results at 9.30, 11.30 then 1.30. It takes some time to upload results because of all the processes. So, when the actual results come, there is a mismatch. The gap between expectation and reality is frustration," he added.
Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Full Schedule Of Polling In 2 States
Maharashtra to vote in single phase (288 seats)
Date of Poll: November 20
Counting of Votes: November 23
Jharkhand - Polls in 2 phases (81 seats)
Date of poll: Nov 13, Nov 20
Counting of votes: November 23
Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Full Schedule
Election Dates Live: Schedule For Bye-Elections
Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Voting To Take Place In 2 Phases, Counting On November 23
Voting in Jharkhand will take place in two phases - November 13 and November 20. Counting will take place on November 23.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Full Schedule
Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Voting On November 20, Counting On November 23Maharashtra
Start of Nomination: 22 October
Last date for Nomination: 29 October
Date of Poll: 20 November
Date of Counting: 23 November
Maharashtra Elections Date: Elections in Maharashtra To Be Held In Single Phase
Voting in Maharashtra will take place in a single phase, announces Election Commission of India.
Maharashtra, Jharkhand Election Dates Live: Over 12 Crore Electors Eligible To Vote
Over 12 crore electors are eligible to vote in Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Total Electors In The State 
Jharkhand Elections Date Live: General Overview Of Polling Stations In The State
Maharashtra Elections Date Live: General Overview Of Electorates In Maharashtra
Elections Date Live: We Reviewed Situation In Maharashtra and Jharkhand"We recently visited Maharashtra and Jharkhand and reviewed the situation there after several meetings with officials," Mr Kumar said.
Elections Live: "Setting Gold Standards In Every Election," Says Poll Body Chief
"Before starting the briefing, I would like to congratulate all voters from Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir for participating in big numbers. India is setting records in every election. We are setting a new gold standard...We declare are will and intent first and fulfill," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Poll Body Briefing Begins
Election Commission presser begins. The poll body will be announcing the dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Congress Expels MLA After He Joins Ajit Pawar's Faction
The Congress has expelled MLA Hiraman Khoskar from the party for six years for indulging in "anti-party activities" after he joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
He Khoskar, who represents the Igatpuri assembly constituency in Nashik district, joined the ruling NCP on Monday.
In a letter dated October 14, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the legislator was involved in "anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha polls and even after that".
Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Congress Appoints Observers For Polls
The Congress on Tuesday appointed division-wise AICC senior observers for the Maharashtra Assembly polls with Ashok Gehlot and G Parameshwara to look after the Mumbai and Konkan region and Sachin Pilot and Uttam Kumar Reddy to oversee the Marathwada region.
As the Congress gets battle-ready for the next round of assembly polls, the opposition party also appointed three AICC senior observers for Jharkhand assembly elections -- Tariq Anwar, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu.
Elections Date Live: Break-up Of Seats In 2019 Maharashtra Elections
Maharashtra has 288 seats, with a majority mark of 145. In 2019, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 105 seats but the undivided NCP, Shiv Sena and the Congress formed the government after winning 54, 56 and 44 seats respectively, forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Thirteen independent candidates won in the polls and one seat was won by a political party.
Elections Date Live: Break-up Of Seats In 2019 Jharkhand Elections
Jharkhand has 81 assembly seats with a majority mark of 41. The 2019 elections saw a close contest between the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the BJP, with the former winning 30 and the latter securing 25 seats. The Congress emerged as the third-largest party with 16 seats.
The JVM (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) got 3 seats, the AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) won 2 seats. Two independent candidates won in the 2019 elections along with three other parties winning one-one seat each.
Assembly Elections Live: Maharashtra, Jharkhand Elections Will Be The Last Set Of Polls In 2024
This year's election will probably be the last prestige battle of 2024 with the fractured Shiv Sena and NCP battling the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.
Sources in the BJP told NDTV the party will contest on 158 of the state's 288 seats. It has offered 70 seats to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and 50 to Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party.
The Congress, battered by the Haryana defeat, will face an upbeat BJP. Among the key figures to be watched out in the poll season in Maharashtra will be Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has held a series of hunger strikes to demand reservation for the community.