The Loha constituency is one of the 288 Assembly constituencies in the western state of Maharashtra, which is headed to the polls.
Maharashtra heads into the Vidhan Sabha elections this time after a tumultuous five years following the 2019 elections, the aftermath of which was marked by defections, more defections, and splits in major parties in the state.
Constituency details:
Constituency number 88, the Loha seat in Maharashtra is located in the Nanded district. The seat is unreserved.
Polling and counting date:
Unlike the two-phase Assembly elections in Jharkhand, state polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase for all 288 seats, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced.
The Loha constituency will go to polls on November 20, along with all other seats in the state.
Counting of votes for all seats will be held on November 23, alongside vote counting for Jharkhand. Counting of votes for bypolls to 48 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states will also take place on the same day.
Demographic details:
The Loha constituency is located in the Nanded district, which has 2751638 registered voters, including 1414727 male voters, 1336740 female voters, and 171 third gender voters.
Polling stations:
According to the state Chief Election Commissioner (CEO), the Loha constituency will have 338 polling stations. Overall, more than 1 lakh polling stations will be set up across Maharashtra for the 2024 Assembly elections.
What happened in the 2019 Assembly elections?
The last Assembly elections in Maharashtra, held in October 2019, saw the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) reach a majority to form the government, but that was only the beginning of the story. Owing to fractures within the alliance, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena quit the NDA and joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) to form a new alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which went on to form the government with Uddhav as the Chief Minister.
The saga, however, didn't end there.
Political churning gripped the state again in 2022, following which Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde along with 40 MLAs left the Uddhav-led party and joined hands with the BJP, leading to the collapse of the MVA government and the revival of the Maha Yuti, comprising the Shinde-led Sena and the BJP. Shinde, subsequently, was appointed Chief Minister.
A year later, Ajit Pawar also rebelled against the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, leading to a split in the party. The younger Pawar, along with several party members, joined the Maha Yuti, leading to two defined blocs within the the state: the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), Congress, and the Maha Yuti, comprising the BJP, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Loha constituency election results:
In the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Peasants And Workers Party Of India candidate Shyamsundar Shinde won the Loha seat with a margin of 64362 votes.
Loha constituency voter turnout:
In the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Loha constituency had 272771 registered voters but only saw 191446 votes cast—a turnout of 70.2 %.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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