Assembly polls and by-polls begins

New Delhi, Oct 21:  Assembly elections began in Haryana and Maharashtra where the ruling BJP is making a determined effort to bounce back to power.
Bypolls  also take place to 51 Assembly seats in 17 states and to two Lok Sabha constituencies.
The two Lok Sabha seats where by-polls will be held are Samastipur in Bihar and Satara constituency in Maharashtra.
These are the first electoral contests since August 5, 2019 when the BJP-led Modi government has decided to abrogate Article 370 and also bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Haryana, while the saffron party has set a target to bag at least 75 seats in the 90-member assembly, the Congress is hoping to make a comeback where it lost power five years back.
As many as 1,169 candidates of various political outfits are in the fray.
The INLD and the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a breakaway faction of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) are also hoping to make a dent in this year’s polls.
In Maharashtra, BJP is contesting polls in alliance with the Shiv Sena.
However, the Shiv Sena Sanjay Raut has claimed that the decision of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray to contest polls will change the state’s “political dynamics” in coming years.
The Shiv Sena also has questioned why top BJP leaders held so many rallies for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis feels there is no Opposition left in the fray.
The abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and demand for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya have figured prominently in the polls campaign.
The opposition Congress and NCP – of course – raised economic issues and other related matters.