The Election Commission on Saturday announced that Maharashtra and Haryana will both vote in a single phase on October 21. Votes will be counted on October 24.

The notification for elections in both states is 27 September, while the last date of nominations is October 4. Bye-elections will also be held in several states. A list is below.

With the announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into place.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that the expenditure limit per candidate was Rs 28 lakh, and reassured the public about the functionality of electronic voting machines. Several Opposition parties have consistently claimed that EVMs have been rigged in the past.

The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly’s term ends on November 9, while the 90-member Haryana Assembly’s tenure ends November 2, according to PTI. In Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 122 seats in 2014, while its alliance partner Shiv Sena won 63. In Haryana too, the BJP had won, securing 47 seats in 2014.

In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress are likely to ally, and are reportedly deciding on seats. Last time, though the BJP and Shiv Sena contested independently, they had tied up after the elections. The two are likely to ally again.

Jharkhand election dates were not announced. The last Jharkhand polls were held between November 25, 2014, and December 20, 2014.

Bye-elections will be held in the following states:

  • Arunachal Pradesh: 1 seat
  • Assam: 4 seats
  • Bihar: 5 seats
  • Gujarat: 4 seats
  • Himachal Pradesh: 5 seats
  • Karnataka: 15 seats
  • Kerala: 5 seats
  • Madhya Pradesh: 1 seat
  • Meghalaya: 1 seat
  • Orissa: 1 seat
  • Puducherry: 1 seat
  • Punjab: 4 seats
  • Rajasthan: 2 seats
  • Sikkim: 2 seats
  • Tamil Nadu: 2 seats
  • Telangana: 1 seat
  • Uttar Pradesh: 11 seats

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