Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Counting of votes begins for 48 LS seats

Pic/PTI

The counting of votes began Tuesday morning for the 48 Lok Sabha seats of Maharashtra where Shiv Sena and NCP factions and the ruling BJP and opposition Congress are jockeying for political supremacy.

Counting began at 8 am, an election official said.

Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 61.33 per cent in the general elections, held in five phases from April 19 to May 20.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: A total of 5,70,06,778 voters

A total of 5,70,06,778 voters out of 9,29,43,890 exercised their franchise in the five phases.

At 71.88 per cent, polling in the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency was the highest, while Mumbai South registered the lowest turnout at 50.06 per cent.

The counting of votes in Maharashtra is being held at 289 counting halls and 4,309 counting tables by 14,507 personnel.

The results are crucial for both the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as the western state sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 MPs.

The Mahayuti includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

The MVA constituents include the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Important candidates

There were 1,121 candidates in the fray, including Union ministers Nitin Gadkari (from Nagpur), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North), Narayan Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Raosaheb Danve (Jalna), Bharti Pawar (Dindori) and Kapil Patil (Bhiwandi).

The most riveting contest was in Baramati constituency where Sharad Pawar's daughter and sitting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule was pitted against her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, who last year engineered a split in the Nationalist Congress Party founded by his uncle.

State ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar and Sandipan Bhumre contested against their rivals from the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) in Chandrapur and Aurangabad seats, respectively.

In 2019, the BJP won 23 seats in Maharashtra and its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) bagged 18. The then undivided NCP had bagged four constituencies, whereas the Congress could win just one seat.

The elections in 2024 were fought in a changed political landscape after splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP following rebellions by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

The other key battles during the 2024 polls were between BJP leader Pankaja Munde and Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP (SP) in Beed and between Congress MLA Praniti Shinde, daughter of ex-Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde, and Ram Satpute of the BJP in Solapur.

Shahu Chhatrapati, a royal from Kolhapur, and Udayanraje Bhosale, a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, contested from Kolhapur and Satara seats on Congress and BJP tickets, respectively.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena (UBT)

In Mumbai, the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray faction were locked in a straight fight in three of six seats- Mumbai South, Mumbai North West, and Mumbai South Central, while in the three other seats, the BJP squared off against Congress.

Prominent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam of the BJP contested against Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai North Central seat.

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Eknath Shinde's son and sitting MP Shrikant Shinde is seeking a third term from Kalyan.

Within MVA, Shiv Sena (UBT) contested the maximum 21 seats, followed by Congress 17 and NCP (SP) 10.

In the ruling Mahayuti, the BJP fielded 28 candidates, followed by Shinde-led Sena which contested 15 seats, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP 4 and ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1.

Of the 15 seats, the Shinde Sena faced off against the Uddhav faction in 13, while the rival NCP camps were locked in a straight contest in Baramati and Shirur constituencies.

The Sena (UBT) and the BJP contested four seats each in Marathwada, but were not directly pitted against each other in any of the eight seats in the drought-affected region.

The BJP contested Beed, Jalna, Nanded, and Latur seats. In Beed, it faced opposition from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), while in Jalna, Nanded, and Latur, it faced the Congress.

A triangular contest unfolded in Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat among Shiv Sena (UBT), Shiv Sena, and AIMIM. Union minister Danve contested from Jalna for the sixth time, facing a direct challenge from former Congress MLA Kalyan Kale.

The BJP's poll campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who targeted Sharad Pawar in his rallies. The MVA canvassed on the "threat to the Constitution" narrative with Sharad Pawar addressing several rallies.

Thackeray played the sympathy tune citing "gaddari" (treachery) by MLAs from the Shinde camp.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi addressed rallies with the theme of social justice and assurance to conduct a caste census if voted to power.

(With inputs from Agencies)