Maharashtra and Haryana today voted to elect new governments with the ruling BJP in driving seat in both the states. The voters’ turnout in Maharashtra at 5 PM was 44.6%, while Haryana recorded 53.7%.
Both states currently have BJP governments. While Devendra Fadnavis is seeking re-election in Maharashtra, his party’s Manohar Lal Khattar has vowed to return to power with a bigger majority this time around in the 90-seat Haryana assembly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier tweeted, “I urge voters in these states and seats to turnout in record numbers and enrich the festival of democracy.”
In Maharashtra, BJP is fighting with its traditional ally, the Shiv Sena, while the Congress has once again teamed up with the NCP. The BJP is contesting 150 seats, while the Shiv Sena has been allotted 124 seats. In the outgoing Maharashtra assembly, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had 217 seats.
This is the first time a member of the Thackeray clan is taking part in the electoral politics with Aditya Thackeray trying his luck from Worli. Experts say that his victory from this Mumbai seat will be a mere formality.
Under the seat-sharing deal, Aditya will be the new deputy chief minister of the state if the BJP-Shiv Sena return to the government after the elections.
In Haryana, where the BJP defeated the Congress five years ago by winning 48 out of 90 seats, Khattar has vowed to win at least 75 seats this time around.
Today will also see byelections to 51 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats across 18 states of assembly seats. This includes 11 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh alone. Two Lok Sabh seats going for elections today were Samastipur in Bihar and Satara in Maharashtra.
Campaigning for this year’s assembly elections has been dull in the wake of the principal opposition party, the Congress, facing a near-rout in the Lok Sabha polls.
Here are the live updates:
- Chhattisgarh: 74.39% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm for the by-polls in Chitrakote assembly constituency. (ANI)
- BJP national working president JP Nadda to hold a meeting with party’s General Secretaries tomorrow at BJP HQ over #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls and #HaryanaAssemblyPolls. Discussions regarding party functions on birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, on 31st Oct, will also be taken up. (ANI)
Maharashtra: Former President Pratibha Patil cast her vote at NCL School in Pune, for #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/Bht5B4C1Fy
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Salman Khan cast vote at a polling vote in Bandra (West), Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/n1q0g3MBhz
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
- #HaryanaAssemblyPolls: 50.59% poll percentage recorded till 3:30 pm in Haryana. (ANI)
- 36.90% voter turnout recorded in 11 assembly constituencies till 3pm in the state in #ByElection2019 (ANI)
- #MaharashtraAssemblyElections: 35% poll percentage recorded in Mumbai City district till 3 pm. (ANI)
Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections pic.twitter.com/ABPO6Be6rk
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri cast their votes at polling booth no 177 in Bandra West, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/kp6kt9IYWw
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Deepika Padukone after casting her vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West), Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/A5uiWkPVms
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar after casting their vote at a polling booth in Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/JQXSL5sxUJ
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
- The polling percentage across 288 Assembly Constituencies in Maharashtra is 30.89% till 1 pm. (ANI)
Mumbai: Actors Anil Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Andheri (West). #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/M0FRWQqxCv
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor and BJP MP Hema Malini casts her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai's Andheri (West). pic.twitter.com/xkCxLAhq0r
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Union Minister Smriti Irani after casting her vote: Today's hero is Khanna ji (man standing next to her),he had served in Army. He is 93 & came out to vote. It is an inspiration,request people to come out and vote,if at 93 he can vote,who is stopping you?#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls https://t.co/56MkPFUeuk pic.twitter.com/Cy1x8Ioofu
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#WATCH Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar after casting his vote in Mumbai: I request everyone to come out and vote in large numbers, this is a celebration of democracy. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/V920UfLZr9
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor Govinda & wife Sunita cast their vote at a polling booth in Andheri (West). pic.twitter.com/7Jr3XkUgDA
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, wife Anjali and their son Arjun after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West). #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/SCMPcCOy03
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Haryana: Former Indian Hockey captain and BJP candidate from Pehowa, Sandeep Singh (in orange turban), casts his vote at a polling booth in Kurukshetra. #HaryanaAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/zOjzGPC5Uj
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#HaryanaAssemblyPolls: Senior Congress leader & former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda casts his vote at a polling booth in Rohtak. pic.twitter.com/5X2exBQPUs
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Veteran actor Prem Chopra and Director-lyricist Gulzar leave after casting their votes at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/Lj8zBms7EB
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray, wife Rashmi and sons Aditya and Tejas, after casting their vote in Bandra(East). Aditya Thackeray is a candidate from Worli constituency. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/nleuDjis35
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
- Haryana CM ML Khattar after casting his vote in Karnal: Voting is underway peacefully across the state. Opposition parties including Congress have already lost and have left the battleground, their tall claims have no value. (ANI) #HaryanaAssemblyPolls
#MaharashtraAssemblyElections2019: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wife Amruta & mother Sarita after casting their vote, at a polling booth in Nagpur. pic.twitter.com/iDb5YgE8bt
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Actor Madhuri Dixit leaves after casting her vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/BwiFmUsCin
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Power cut at a polling booth in Pune's Shivaji Nagar; voting underway. pic.twitter.com/DEMcctTE2t
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyElections: Ritesh Deshmukh, his wife Genelia D'Souza & family cast their votes at a polling booth in Latur. His brothers Amit Deshmukh & Dhiraj Deshmukh are contesting polls as Congress candidates from Latur city & Latur rural constituencies, respectively. pic.twitter.com/U9zA9ozZwp
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#WATCH Karnal: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar rides a cycle to the polling booth. #HaryanaAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/NMUqTvfYJF
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Former tennis player Mahesh Bhupati, wife and actor Lara Dutta after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/IFy8jc5MNS
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan arrives to cast his vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West), says 'I appeal to all citizens of Maharashtra to come out and vote in large numbers'. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/3VwbrEm3LM
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#AssemblyElections2019: Voter turnout is 8.73% & 5.46% till 9 am in Haryana & Maharashtra, respectively. pic.twitter.com/Iy3nuErKcx
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#WATCH Mumbai: Specially-abled husband & wife leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/0pzMP0kZ7V
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Former Home Minister and Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde with wife Ujwala and daughter Praniti Shinde cast their votes at a polling booth in Solapur. Praniti Shinde is contesting elections as Congress candidate from Solapur Central. pic.twitter.com/WC917B298U
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
People arrive to vote amid heavy rain, in Latur. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/JIpUSveGQc
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
- 5% polling till 9 am in Mumbai city district’s 10 assembly constituencies. (ANI)
Sewri(Mumbai): Specially abled voters being brought to polling booths on wheelchair compatible vehicles by Election Commission. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/6MugFVCfpA
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#HaryanaAssemblyPolls: Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala & his family arrive on a tractor, to cast their votes at a polling booth in Sirsa. pic.twitter.com/K9EHSM6klA
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
- Khattar tweets photo of his train journey to Karnal to cast his vote
- Khattar says breakfast only after the vote.
- Voting is an integral part of democracy, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis
