The Maharashtra Assembly polls are expected to be held after Diwali in November this year, instead of October, giving the Mahayuti government at least a month more in office before it takes on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). On Friday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) parted with the practice of holding Maharashtra elections together with Haryana’s.

The ECI said on Friday, while announcing the schedule for Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, that it needed more time to get ready in monsoon-hit Maharashtra. J&K will go to the polls in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. Haryana’s voting is scheduled for October 1. Results of both elections will be declared on October 4. As compared to the 2019 programme, Haryana's schedule has been advanced by 20 days. Both Haryana and Maharashtra held polling on October 21 five years ago.