All you need to know about Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Maharashtra

The preparations for the Lok Sabha Election 2019 are on an overdrive with the voting dates coming closer. This election will decide whether the present BJP government would come back for a second term or the Congress gets ahead this time. Either way, Maharashtra stands to be a critical role in the elections as it is the second-most populous state in India. In the state, better employment opportunities, drinking water, and farm loan availability have been identified as issues that form the voter priorities, as per a voter survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms.

While you can get the latest updates about the elections even on online platforms like ZEE5 (they feature many news clips on the topic apart from live news streams), what about the basic details that voters often miss out. To address this query, here is a list of facts that will enlighten you on the scale, extent and impact of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.

1.  The State of Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats in total. Polling for these seats shall take place in 4 phases right from the beginning of the elections on April 11. The polling dates in the state are April 11, 18, 23 and 29.
2. With 48 constituencies, the state has the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats, with Uttar Pradesh having the highest.
3. After initially deciding of fighting the elections alone, Shiv Sena eventually joined hands with the BJP, rejuvenating the successful 2014 alliance.
4. In order to give the Sena-BJP alliance a tough competition, the Opposition led by the Congress and NCP announced an alliance of 56 political parties and organizations.

Apart from the above details, here are some first-time measures taking place in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in general.

1. All-women polling booths are to be set up in every constituency of Maharashtra for this election. As per the Election Commission’s directions, these polling stations will be entirely managed by women. Known as ‘Sakhi Matdan Kendras’, it is an initiative towards gender equality and promoting female participation in the electoral process.
2. A political party bringing forth candidates with a former criminal background will have to publish information about the same on their website and in media platforms like news channels and newspapers on three different occasions.
3. This time, ‘voter-verifiable paper audit trail’ (VVPAT) shall be used at all polling stations. The VVPAT is a device dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party that a person has voted for. The slip shall appear on a small window for seven seconds. After which, it will then drop in a box. Hence, the voter would not be able to take it home.

So, those were some of the basic facts about the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. To stay up-to-date with the latest news about the elections, keep an eye on digital platforms like ZEE5.