Maharashtra Elections 2024: Exit Poll Details, Results Date, Time, Where To Watch And More

Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 20. All 288 Assembly constituencies will go to polls in a single phase.

As many as 4,140 candidates are in the fray, while more than 9.6 crore voters will exercise their franchise to elect the next government in Maharashtra.

"We received 7,078 valid nomination forms for 288 seats. Of these, 2,938 candidates have withdrawn nominations, leaving 4,140 in the fray,” news agency PTI quoted an official of the state election commission as saying.

The state is witnessing a direct fight between the coalitions of Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The MVA comprises Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and Congress. On the other hand, the Mahayuti alliance consists of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and the BJP.

Here is a look at the key dates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024:

• Date of issue of Gazette notification: Oct. 22

• Last date for nominations: Oct. 29

• Date for scrutiny of nominations: Oct. 30

• Last date for withdrawal of nominations: Nov. 4

• Voting day: Nov. 20

• Counting for votes: Nov. 23

Counting of votes will start at 8 a.m. on Nov. 23. According to Election Commission guidelines, exit polls are to be aired after completion of voting.

Exit polls are surveys conducted right after people cast their votes and leave polling stations. They aim to predict the outcome of an election before the official result is released. These exit polls involve a sample of voters who are asked about their voting choices. Exit polls can offer key insights into the voting pattern and highlight top trends, though it’s not the actual polls result. Though they are not official, exit polls act as a popular indicator of voter sentiment.

News outlets and television channels will be able to share their exit polls' data on Nov. 20 after 6:30 p.m., after the end of voting for all 288 seats.

Exit polls results will be streamed after 6:30 p.m., as mentioned above. You will be able to watch the exit polls live on the website, YouTube channel and all social media handles of NDTV Profit. Maharashtra elections' exit poll live updates will also be available on all the channels of NDTV Group.