Maharashtra Elections 2024: BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seems to be gaining lead

Maharashtra Elections 2024: As of 9:10 AM on Saturday, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition is leading the Maharashtra 2024 Assembly Elections, according to preliminary trends.

According to preliminary results, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is leading in eight seats, the BJP in ten, and the Shiv Sena, headed by Eknath Shinde, in nine.

The Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) is leading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with four seats, followed by the Congress with three and the UBT Sena with two.

In the meantime, the results of 15 states’ by-elections and the counting for the 2024 Jharkhand and Maharashtra Assembly Elections started at 8 AM. Trends are anticipated to emerge in the first few hours of the counting, which will determine the outcome of the 288 seats in Maharashtra and the 81 in Jharkhand.

Over 66 percent of voters turned out to vote in Maharashtra’s Legislative Assembly polls on Wednesday, above the 61 percent turnout in the 2019 elections. The MVA coalition, which consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), is a fierce rival to the Mahayuti alliance, which consists of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP. The higher voter participation is seen by both coalitions as an indication of support for their respective campaigns.

S. Chockalingam, the state chief electoral officer, commended efforts to boost turnout, particularly in Mumbai. “This time, Maharashtra received a lot of time, attention, and emphasis from the Indian Election Commission. Every tactic was carefully thought out and put into action. Between the present election and the Parliament election, this led to a notable increase in the number of voters. Voting was made easier, particularly in areas like Mumbai where the Parliament elections presented difficulties. “Everyone was grateful for the arrangements this time,” he remarked. In addition, he congratulated the roughly 6 lakh officials who made sure the polling went well.

The first round of voting in Jharkhand, which included 43 of the 81 assembly seats, was held on November 13. The BJP-led NDA coalition, which consists of AJSU, JD(U), and LJP, is running against the JMM-led alliance, which consists of Congress, RJD, and CPI(ML). According to exit polls, the JMM-led coalition is anticipated to win 25–30 seats, while the NDA may win 42–47 seats.

On election day, Jharkhand’s voter turnout surpassed the 65 percent turnout in 2019 with a recorded turnout of over 68.45 percent. The JMM took 30 seats, the BJP 25 seats, and the Congress 16 seats in the 2019 elections. Today will see the announcement of the Maharashtra and by-election results, as well as the results for all 81 Jharkhand seats.

With major battles in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad, Kerala, where Congress politician Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her political debut, the by-elections took place in 15 states, covering 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats.