Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: State to vote on November 20, counting on November 23

While the date for the Maharashtra Assembly elections has been announced, the ruling and Opposition alliances in the state are yet to finalise their seat-sharing arrangements.

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Maharashtra will have 1,00,186 polling centres and of these, over 57,000 polling centres will be in rural areas.

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced that Assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20, with counting on November 23. The announcement comes at a time when both the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliances in the state are yet to finalise their seat-sharing arrangements.

Maharashtra has 9.64 crore voters, including 4.94 crore men and 4.66 crore women, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in Delhi. The state will have 1,00,186 polling centres and of these, over 57,000 polling centres will be in rural areas, Kumar added.

With the elections being announced, both the Mahayuti and the MVA are likely to hurry to wind up their seat-sharing talks and arrive at a consensus.

The BJP is set to remain the dominant party in the three-party Mahayuti alliance with the party already deciding to contest 160 of the 288 Assembly seats. “So far, the Mahayuti has finalised 240 seats and a decision on 48 seats remains to be taken,” a BJP spokesperson said. “The remaining seats will be shared by the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),” the spokesperson added. The Shinde Sena is likely to contest more seats than Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

The MVA has decided on 225 seats. “Our discussions on the remaining seats are underway and will be finalised in a couple of days,” Maharashtra Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe told The Indian Express.

Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said no party has claimed the highest number of seats so far. “Though we have finalised 225 seats, as of now, we cannot say who will get the highest number of seats. There are debates and discussions on each seat. Only when we add up all seats will we know who will get the maximum,” Chavan added.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena had contested together while the Congress and the undivided NCP were in alliance. The BJP had emerged with the highest number of seats, 105, while the Shiv Sena had emerged second with 56 seats. The NCP and Congress were placed third and fourth, respectively.

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However, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance fell apart over the issue of chief ministership. While the Shiv Sena said the BJP had promised to give it the chief minister’s post, the BJP denied this.

The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray then allied with the Congress and the NCP to form the MVA government. Two and a half years later, in June 2022, the BJP brought down the government by causing a split in Shiv Sena. A group of 40 MLAs led by Shinde joined hands to form the government with BJP. Subsequently, the BJP caused a split in the NCP and a group of around 40 MLAs led by Ajit Pawar joined hands with the BJP-Sena government to form the Mahayuti government, which has been in power since.

However, the Mahayuti government received a body blow during the Lok Sabha elections by winning only 17 seats while the MVA bagged 30 out of the 48 seats in the state. The dismal show sent tremors in the Mahayuti, which has gone all out to woo voters by announcing a slew of welfare measures and approving several development projects before the election announcement.

Manoj Dattatrye More

Manoj Dattatrye More is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, having been with the publication since 1992. Based in Pune, he is a veteran journalist with a 33-year career that spans editorial desk work, investigative reporting, and political analysis. Professional Legacy Experience: He spent his first 16 years on the editorial desk before moving into active field reporting. He has written over 20,000 stories, including more than 10,000 bylined articles. Impact Journalism: He is widely respected for "campaign-style" reporting that leads to tangible social change. Road Safety: His decade-long campaign regarding the dangerous state of the Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki resulted in a ₹23 crore reconstruction project in 2006, which dramatically reduced fatalities. Environmental Protection: His reports against tree cutting on the Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Nashik highways saved approximately 2,000 trees. Anti-Corruption: During the COVID-19 pandemic, he exposed a scam where doctors were being asked to pay bribes for government jobs, resulting in them being hired without payment. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Manoj More's recent work focuses heavily on the shifting political landscape of Maharashtra and civic governance in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area: 1. Political Shifts & Alliances "Ajit Pawar's NCP continues domination in Pune, wins 10 of 17 local bodies" (Dec 21, 2025): A major report on the local self-government election results, detailing the NCP’s stronghold in Baramati, Indapur, and Lonavala. "BJP ropes in 13 ex-corporators, deals major blow to NCP" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant political defection in Pimpri-Chinchwad as the BJP gears up for civic polls. "Congress opts for solo BMC run as alliance talks with Sena (UBT) collapse" (Dec 17, 2025): Covering the breakdown of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) talks for the Mumbai civic elections. "NCP(SP)'s Rahul Kalate, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjog Waghere set to join BJP" (Dec 19, 2025): Detailing high-profile party-hopping ahead of the municipal elections. 2. Civic & Administrative Accountability "PCMC draws ire for issuing tenders worth Rs 250 crore just before poll code" (Dec 17, 2025): An investigative piece on the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s last-minute spending spree before election restrictions. "93 killed in 76 accidents in five years: Bypass service roads in Pune remain undeveloped for 18 yrs" (Nov 16, 2025): A critical look at the long-delayed infrastructure projects contributing to fatalities on Pune’s bypass roads. 3. Social & Labor Issues "As state says TCS has laid off 376 employees: FITE flags figures, say nearly 2,500 were forced to quit" (Dec 11, 2025): Investigating conflicting reports regarding IT sector layoffs in Maharashtra. "Maharashtra govt move to 'downgrade' Aadhaar cards" (Nov 30, 2025): Reporting on the state’s decision to require additional documents alongside Aadhaar to combat identity misuse. Signature Beat Manoj More is the definitive voice on Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial hub he has covered for three decades. His reporting is characterized by its aggressive stance against local "gondaism" (thuggery) and a relentless focus on civic infrastructure—choked drains, garbage management, and public transport. X (Twitter): @manojmore91982 ... Read More

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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024