The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Maharashtra will hold its elections in a single phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will conduct voting over two phases on November 13 and November 20. The results will be counted on November 23.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also revealed that bye-elections for 47 assembly seats and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat will take place on November 13. Additionally, the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand and the Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra will have their bypolls on November 20.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which consists of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, the BJP, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, will face off against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the dominant party, winning 105 of the 288 seats, while its ally, the Shiv Sena, secured 56 seats, together forming a comfortable majority. However, a subsequent power struggle over the Chief Minister's position led to a split between the two parties. The Shiv Sena later formed a government with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress under the MVA alliance, resulting in Uddhav Thackeray becoming the Chief Minister.

This coalition government, however, could not complete its term and collapsed in June 2022 following a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde. Shinde and several MLAs broke away from the Shiv Sena, opposing its alliance with Congress and the NCP, and subsequently formed a government in partnership with the BJP.

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the upcoming assembly polls will see the opposition INDIA bloc contesting against the BJP, which aims to unseat the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government.

In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly elections, the JMM-led coalition, which included the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), achieved a significant victory, securing 47 of the 81 assembly seats. The JMM was the largest party, winning 30 seats, while Congress won 16 seats and the RJD 1 seat. The BJP, which had previously held power, won 25 seats. Following that election, JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as Chief Minister. However, Soren now faces challenges, including corruption charges linked to an alleged land scam.