22 November,2024 10:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Mahayuti and MVA leaders are both interpreting the increased voting percentage as a sign of greater support for them.
The results of fierce electoral battle in Maharashtra will unfold tomorrow with the leaders of the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) expressing confidence of their victories in a keenly-watched outcome that has long-term implications for various players, particularly from the two factions of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which have seen splits.
Votes will be counted from 8 am and the trends are expected to emerge in the next two hours. The Mahayuti, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and NCP, is locked in a fierce contest with MVA that includes Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was held on Wednesday. A total of 66.05 per cent polling was recorded in the state against nearly 61 per cent in the 2019 Assembly Elections.
Mahayuti and MVA leaders are both interpreting the increased voting percentage as a sign of greater support for them, reported news agency ANI.
Lauding the increased voter participation in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, State's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, said, "The Election Commission of India gave a lot of focus, attention and time for Maharashtra this time. Each and every strategy was conceptualised and implemented with high precision. This resulted in a huge number of addition in the voter list also between the Parliament election and the current election. Efforts made to make voting easier, especially in a place like Mumbai where we had some problems at the time of Parliament elections but this time everyone praised the arrangements."
"So, so much work has been done. The Election Commission thanks all the voters who came out to vote on the day to ensure that history is created... We have increased by 5 per cent more. We want to thank all of them. Nearly 6 lakh officers and employees were putting their efforts into welcoming the voters and ensuring that they vote very easily," he added.
Among the Mahayuti, the BJP is contesting on the largest number of seats - 148 - followed by Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena at 80 and NCP, which is headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, at 52. There are six more seats where the Mahayuti candidates are in the fray.
In the opposite camp, the Congress is contesting on 102 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) on 96 and NCP (SP) on 86. Two seats are being contested by the Samajwadi Party while two other seats by smaller MVA allies.
On the eve of the results, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi exuded confidence in MVA of wresting power from the Mahayuti in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, ANI reported.
"People of Maharashtra are going to free them [Mahayuti] for the next 25 years. The government of loot, corruption, and (industrialist Gautam) Adani is going to end. We will get the majority. They are booking helicopters because they know people will ask them questions, and they need to run away," she told ANI.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav expressed confidence that Mahayuti will retain power in the state.
"Mahayuti will form the government. We are going to win with a majority...The result will be in our favour... The name of the CM will be announced after the result. There is no competition in the alliance...We will get above 200 seats," he said.
Most exit polls predicted Mahayuti's victory with some suggesting that it is a tight race between the two alliances.
BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc will be "wiped out" in Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly polls.
"Those who have been blaming EVMs (electronic voting machines) for their defeat, when they won the elections in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana, the EVMs were correct. Just like people rejected Congress in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, similarly in Maharashtra, the Congress-led alliance will be wiped out. The people will give a befitting reply to the corrupt, parivarvaad parties. PM (Narendra) Modi's government, which works for the poor, women and the youth will get the blessings of the people," Chugh told ANI.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said MVA will get 160-165 seats. At least 145 seats are required to cross the majority in the Maharashtra Assembly.
"The results will be out tomorrow. We are sure that we are going to get the majority. Around 160-165 of our MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) would be elected... The 'khokha walas' will pressure them, so we have made an arrangement for them to stay together in a hotel... Sharad Pawar, Congress and Uddhav Thackeray will have a role to play [in choosing the CM face]. MVA will get complete majority and we will make a unanimous decision [on the CM]... No formula has been made yet, everyone will sit together and choose the CM," he said.
This is the first election after the splits in NCP and Shiv Sena.
In the 2019 elections, BJP won 105 seats, followed by the undivided Shiv Sena (56), undivided NCP (54), Congress (44), and independents (13). Candidates from other parties won 16 seats.
The results have implications for all the four major parties, particularly NCP and Shiv Sena.
Thackeray lost his chief ministerial position owing to split in Shiv Sena in 2022 and his faction has been keen to prove a point in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.
His key rival CM Shinde also gained popularity owing to the welfare measures initiated by the Mahayuti government and there is a seeming clash over who is true inheritor of Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy.
NCP also suffered a split with Pawar joining the ruling alliance as Deputy CM in July 2023.
His uncle Sharad, who now heads NCP (SP), kept a tight campaign and has been keen to see that there is no dent to his long legacy in politics.
A lot is at stake for the Congress, too, in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 after the party is seen to have bungled its prospect last month in the state polls in Haryana where the BJP has formed its third successive government.
Results will also be declared tomorrow for the Jharkhand Assembly polls tomorrow along with the bypolls to 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats.
(With ANI inputs)
