Counting of votes in the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections will begin soon. In Maharashtra, all eyes are on the outcome of the battle between the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback. In Jharkhand, results will decide whether the BJP-led NDA or the JMM-led alliance will form the next government. In Maharashtra’s Mahayuti alliance, the BJP contested 149 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.
In the opposition's MVA combine, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) put up 86 candidates. Parties like Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), also contested, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM putting up 17 candidates. The majority mark in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly is 145, the number any alliance or party needs to crack to be able to form government in the state. While most exit polls predict a victory for the Mahayuti alliance, three suggest that neither the Mahayuti nor the Maha Vikas Aghadi would secure a decisive majority to form the next government in Maharashtra.
In Jharkhand this time, voter turnout reached a record 67.74 per cent, the highest since the formation of the state on November 15, 2000. The elections were held in two phases – November 13 and 20. The first phase covered 43 constituencies out of the total 81 seats, while the second phase saw voting in 38 seats. The state witnessed a fierce electoral battle between the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, with the former seeking to retain power and the latter attempting to wrest it from the ruling dispensation. While some exit polls predict that the BJP-led NDA is likely to oust the ruling JMM-led coalition, others forecast the return of the INDIA alliance in Jharkhand. All eyes will be on key seats that will decide the electoral fates of prominent politicians.
