Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges voters in Maharashtra and Jharkhand to vote with full enthusiasm

"Today, votes will be cast for all the seats in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. I urge the voters of the state to participate with full enthusiasm and add to the splendour of this festival of democracy. On this occasion, I appeal to all the youth and women voters to come out in large numbers to vote," PM Modi posted on X.

Voting in Maharashtra also began at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and will conclude at 6 p.m. Polling is taking place across 288 assembly constituencies.

A total of 4,136 candidates are contesting the elections, including 2,086 independents. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and the NCP 59. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 86. The BSP is contesting 237 seats, while other smaller parties are also in the fray. The state has approximately 9.7 crore registered voters.

Meanwhile, voting for the second phase of Jharkhand assembly elections commenced on 7 a.m. on Wednesday covering the remaining 38 seats.

Earlier, mock polling was conducted in Jamtara, Deoghar and several booths around 5 pm.

"Today is the second and last phase of the great festival of democracy in Jharkhand. I urge all voters to participate in it enthusiastically and create a new record of voting. On this occasion, I specially congratulate all my young friends who are going to vote for the first time. Your every vote is the strength of the state," PM Modi wrote on his post on X.

The first phase of voting took place on November 13 for 43 of the 81 assembly seats.

The elections see a fierce contest between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance, seeking to retain power, and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, aiming to unseat the Hemant Soren-led government.

The BJP-led coalition is targeting key constituencies, with prominent candidates such as former Chief Minister Champai Soren and Congress leader Ajoy Kumar in the fray. (ANI)