Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand election dates to be out in August
The Election Commission may also announce dates for elections to the Delhi assembly
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India may announce in August the dates for elections to the Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand assemblies, setting the stage for the next battle at the hustings after the just concluded Lok Sabha election.
The poll panel may also announce dates for elections to the Delhi assembly, which has been in suspended animation since the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government resigned on 14 February after its minority government failed to introduce a Bill for setting up an anti-corruption body called Jan Lokpal.
“The elections to these states are likely to be announced in August. We are looking at holding polls in October," a senior official at the Election Commission said on the condition of anonymity.
The tenure of the state assemblies of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand end in October, December and January next year, respectively.
These would be the first states that go to the polls following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the April-May elections to 16th Lok Sabha.
Experts believe that given the majority mandate the ruling party won with 282 out of 543 seats, these states may see a substantive BJP wave.
“It’s clearly all those states where the BJP can do well. Notably, in all these states the party is in opposition. I feel that in all these states, except Haryana, this election is about the BJP and the party can put up its best performance," Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst, said.
In the 90-member Haryana legislative assembly, fresh from a spectacular performance in the 2009 general elections, the Congress party won 40 seats, paving the way for Bhupinder Singh Hooda to become chief minister. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was the main opposition with 31 seats.
“In Haryana there might be an INLD resurgence, because they do well in local state elections. The BJP, therefore, may not have a cakewalk in Haryana," Mrug said.
The AAP would be a strong contender in both Delhi and Haryana, the two being its focus states. In the December Delhi election, the party won 29 seats and formed a minority government with outside support from the Congress.
“AAP has an identity crisis. They would not be wiped out but they would face a serious challenge from the BJP," Mrug said.
The Jharkhand government, led by chief minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) with just 18 members in an 82-member state assembly, is surviving with the help of the 13-member strong Congress, and independents.
The BJP has 18 members in the assembly and with it winning 12 of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the fragile government could be further strained.
In Maharashtra, the Congress party won 82 seats in the 288 member assembly, while its ally Nationalist Congress Party won 62 in the previous assembly elections in 2009. The alliance performed poorly, winning only six out of the 48 seats.
The assembly elections in Maharashtra also come in the backdrop of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar asking his party leaders to engage in hard bargaining with the Congress for more seats.
In the recently concluded General Elections, results of which were announced on 16 May, 834 million people were registered to vote, of which 553 million exercised their franchise. The entire process was held in nine phases.
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