A man arranges scarves of political parties at a shop, ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
As the state gears up for the assembly elections, here is a quick look back at what happened in 2019, the last time the assembly elections were held in the state. It was a significant election because in the months that followed, a political crisis erupted that eventually led to the dramatic Shiv Sena split too.
The last Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election was held on October 21, 2019, to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. With a 61.4 per cent turnout in the election, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena won a majority of the seats. But as differences arose over government formation, the alliance crumbled, triggering a political crisis. President's rule was imposed in the state.
Then on November 23, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. However, both resigned on November 26, 3 days later, just before the floor test.
Following this, Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress joined hands to form the government under a new alliance — Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — with Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister on November 28, 2019.
However, Thackeray's reign was short-lived, lasting around 2 and half years, roughly, before he resigned on June 29, 2022. His resignation was precipitated by an in-party rebellion — a faction of MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde, split from Shiv Sena and allied with the BJP. Subsequently, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as the deputy Chief minister.
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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