Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, announced today by the Election Commission for October 21, will be the first in the country since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to success in Lok Sabha polls in May. Nearly 11 crore people will vote across the two states in an election that is also the first since PM Modi's government pushed through several key pieces of legislation in parliament's monsoon session, such as the abrogation of Article 370 and the 'Triple Talaq' bill, as well as completing the NRC in Assam. Kick-starting the BJP's election campaign in Haryana, PM Modi reminded voters of some of these 'firsts', saying, "whatever big decisions were taken, it is in your favour... triple talaq, mand many steps are being taken to strengthen the economy... be it Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh or the water problem, people have started looking for solutions".
