Maharashtra votes today to elect its next state government months after the BJP-Shiv Sena combine won 41 of 48 parliamentary seats in the national elections.
The Election Commission has set up 96,661 polling stations in 288 constituencies where a total of 3,237 candidates are contesting. The state has 289 assembly constituencies; however, one of the constituencies has a nominated legislator.
State elections in Maharashtra and Haryana are crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA coalition at the centre that will face its biggest test after winning a massive majority for a second term in the national elections earlier this year. For rival Congress, it could be an opportunity to gain the lost ground.
The BJP is contesting 150 seats in 288-member Maharashtra Assembly while its ally Shiv Sena has fielded candidates in 124 candidates. The remaining seats have been left for smaller allies.
The Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra.
A total of 916 candidates contesting the Maharashtra state polls have declared criminal cases against themselves, up from 798 in 2014, according to a joint report.
According to the report by the Maharashtra Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), of the 916 candidates, 600 have declared serious criminal cases, while 27 have declared convicted cases.
"In 2014 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, out of 2,336 candidates analysed, 798 had declared criminal cases against themselves, while 537 candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves," the report said.
The campaigning for state polls in Haryana and Maharashtra ended on Saturday as PM Modi raised the poll pitch in Haryana's Rewari attacking Congress over Article 370.
During the campaign, the BJP leaders targeted Congress on its past record in office and vociferously raised the issues of repeal of Article 370 and the efforts to boost national security.The Congress and other opposition parties raised issues such as "unemployment", "slow down in economy" and " farm distress".
(With inputs from PTI, IANS)
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