Congress leader Supriya Shrinate expressed confidence in the party's victory in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, highlighting the various issues plaguing the state, including widespread corruption, the Pune and Badlapur incidents, and the controversy surrounding the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. Shrinate pointed out that the BJP lost 28 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections and anticipates a similar outcome in the forthcoming assembly elections.
Shrinate questioned the BJP's leadership in Jharkhand, noting a lack of strong local leaders following the election defeat of Arjun Munda."I am confident that just as we performed well in the Lok Sabha polls and they (BJP) lost 28 seats, we will see the same result now. What is the BJP talking about in Jharkhand when they don't even have a leader there? Arjun Munda lost, and now they are having to import a leader," she said.
In Maharashtra, she emphasized the concerns surrounding widespread corruption, the incidents in Pune and Badlapur, and the controversy involving the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. "We are confident that our leadership will be significant in Maharashtra. Our Central Executive Committee meeting is on Sunday, where everything will be decided," she added.Notably, the Maha Vikas Aghadi is an alliance comprising Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT (Uddhav Thackeray’s faction), and NCP-SP (Sharad Pawar’s faction), which is now contesting against the ruling Mahayuti alliance — a coalition of BJP, NCP, and the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) — in Maharashtra.
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The Assembly elections in Maharashtra are scheduled for November 20, as announced by the Election Commission of India on October 15, 2024. Political parties are gearing up for an unprecedented election cycle.In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Congress and a unified Shiv Sena secured 154 out of 288 seats as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA won 30 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats, while the ruling alliance claimed 17 seats, with one seat going to an Independent candidate.
Meanwhile, the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly elections will take place on November 13 and 20, according to the ECI. A total of 2.60 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in Jharkhand, including 1.31 crore male and 1.29 crore female voters, as well as 11.84 lakh first-time voters. Votes will be counted in both states on November 23.