Mumbai, March 16: All six constituencies in Mumbai will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, while Maharashtra's 48 seats will be covered in five phases, the Election Commission (EC) said on Saturday. Lok Sabha polls in the state will be held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 and votes will be counted on June 4.

Besides Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Palghar which fall in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Nashik, Dindori and Dhule in north Maharashtra will vote in the 5th phase on May 20. There are six constituencies in the city – Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East and Mumbai North. Lok Sabha Election 2024: Election Commission To Focus on Muscle, Money and Misinformation To Ensure Free and Fair Polls.

The BJP has fielded Union minister Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North. Notification for the 5th phase will be issued on April 26. The last date for filing of nomination is May 3, while scrutiny will be done on May 4. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is May 6, as per EC.

Five constituencies from the state's Vidarbha region – Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Chandrapur – will go to polls on April 19 in the first phase. For these seats, the notification will be issued on March 20. The last date for filing nominations is March 27. Scrutiny of the papers will be done on March 28, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 30.

Maharashtra BJP leader and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has been fielded from Chandrapur, the lone seat won by the Congress in 2019. A total of eight constituencies in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions will vote in the second phase on April 26. These are Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim from Vidarbha, and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani from Marathwada. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 88.4 Lakh People With Disabilities Registered in Electoral Roll, Says Election Commission.

The Akola West assembly bye-election, necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Govardhan Sharma, will also be held on April 26. The notification for these seats will be issued on March 28, while the last date for filing nominations is April 4. As per the EC, scrutiny of the papers will take place on April 5 and the date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8.

According to the EC, 11 constituencies in Konkan, Marathwada and Western Maharashtra will vote on May 7 in the third phase. These are Raigad and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg from Konkan; Osmanabad and Latur from Marathwada; and Baramati, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Hatkanangale in western Maharashtra. The notification will be issued on April 12, while the last date for filing papers is April 19. Scrutiny will be on April 20 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 22.

A total of 11 constituencies in north Maharashtra, Marathwada and western Maharashtra will vote in the 4th phase on May 13 – Nandurbar, Jalgaon and Raver in north Maharashtra; Jalna, Aurangabad, Beed in Marathwada; and Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi in western Maharashtra.

The notification for these seats will be issued on April 18 and the last date for filing nominations is April 25. While scrutiny will be done on April 26, nominations can be withdrawn till April 29. Pankaja Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, has been fielded from Beed. BJP has announced 20 candidates in the state so far.