The Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections at 3.30 pm on Tuesday, October 15. 

The term of the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will end on November 26, while the Jharkhand Assembly, which has 81 seats, will finish its term on January 5, 2025. 

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti coalition, made up of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party, will compete against the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). 

In Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), part of the INDIA bloc, will go against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United), and the BJP. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release its first candidate list for the Maharashtra polls with over 60 names in the next two days once it’s cleared by its central election committee (CEC), according to people aware of the matter.