Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the citizens of the nation to increase the voter turnout in today’s elections of Haryana and Maharastra. He urged the people to turn out in greater numbers as it is integral to democracy.
Elections are taking place for Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies. There are also by-polls taking place in various parts of India. I urge voters in these states and seats to turnout in record numbers and enrich the festival of democracy. I hope youngsters vote in large numbers.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2019
Maharashtra is going for polls for its 288 assembly seats while Haryana will see elections today for its 90 assembly constituency. Counting of votes will take place on October 24.
A total of 4400 candidates are fighting for the seats in the two states. Out of which, 1169 candidates are in Haryana while 3237 candidates are in Maharashtra.
19,578 polling stations have been set up in Haryana for today’s voting. In Maharashtra, there are 96,661 polling booths.
Besides Assembly elections in these two states, voting for 51 Assembly constituencies across 17 states is also going on. Bypolls for two Lok Sabha seats are also underway. Satara seats in Maharashtra and Samastipur seat in Bihar are the Lok Sabha seats that are going to the polls.
In Haryana alone, 40,000 state police personnel and 13,000 paramilitary personnel have been put on duty to oversee the election. Along with them, more than 20,000 Home Guards and Special Police Officers have been deployed for conducting the elections in the state. In Maharashtra state, around 40,000 police personnel have been deployed. The use of drones as part of surveillance measures is also being used.
Election Commission of India announced the dates for the election on September 21. following which Model Code of Conduct kicked in.