Maharashtra Votes For High-Stakes Polls, Phase-2 In Jharkhand: 10 Points

Maharashtra, with its 288 assembly seats, has witnessed a bitter battle between the ruling Mahayuthi -- Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party -- and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, a coalition of Sharad Pawar's faction of the NCP, Uddhav Thackeray's faction of Shiv Sena and the Congress.

For the ruling alliance, this is a second chance to gain the upper hand in the state that had made its disapproval of the three parties clear in the Lok Sabha polls held a few months ago.

The Mahayuthi is banking heavily on the welfare schemes of the Eknath Shinde government, especially the "Ladli Behen Scheme". Mr Shinde has said their schemes cover every section of the society.

The Opposition is hoping that this election will repeat the pattern of the Lok Sabha poll -- a clear show of support from the people after the political tumult of the last two years that included rebellion and split in Shiv Sena and the NCP, and the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray government.  

The Opposition has built their campaign around quota, caste census, agrarian issues and welfare schemes. But the outcome is mostly expected to depend on local issues, say party sources.

There is also uncertainty over the top post on both sides. Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena is eager to see him get the top job again. Many surveys have declared him a popular leader.

But Devendra Fadnavis, who missed the post last time due to the BJP's compulsion to keep Mr Shinde and his rebels happy, is waiting in the wings. And this time, he is being backed by the party's chief strategist Amit Shah.

In the Opposition MVA, Uddhav Thackeray is hoping for the top post. But he could be foiled by the Congress, which, after its steller performance in the state in the Lok Sabha polls, is not ready to step aside. Senior party leader Prithviraj Chavan made it clear that the party which has more MLAs will get the top job.

In Jharkhand, this second phase of election will decide the electoral fate of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri among others.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats.