Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 LIVE: Mahayuti extends ...
The counting of votes for all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra has begun, and early trends will start coming in shortly. The clock is ticking for political parties to act swiftly in order to avoid the imposition of the President’s rule in the state.
As per early leads, Mahayuti is well ahead of MVA. As per latest trends, the ruling alliance has already crossed the halfway mark, and has extended a massive lead.
The current Assembly’s term expires on November 26, leaving just 72 hours for parties to form a government. Even if one of the major alliances — the BJP-led Mahayuti or the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi— secures a clear mandate, reaching a consensus on the chief minister’s position could prove to be a pivotal challenge.
Voter turnout across the state stood at 65.02%, with the Sillod constituency in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district recording the highest turnout of 70.46% by 5 p.m., according to official data. Jalna district saw the highest overall voting rate at 64.17%. A total of 4,136 candidates contested for the 288 assembly seats this year.
Comparatively, the 2019 elections saw a 61.74% voter turnout, and this year, the state registered 1,00,186 polling booths, an increase from the 96,654 booths in the 2019 Assembly elections.
Most exit polls suggest that the BJP-led Mahayuti is poised to retain power in Maharashtra, but the final outcome hinges on coalition dynamics and potential leadership disagreements within the winning bloc.
From the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP putting up candidates in 59 constituencies. On the opposition front, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition comprised Congress, which fielded candidates in 101 seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) contesting 95, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP contesting 86 seats.
Other parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) also entered the fray, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM contesting 17 seats.
Rebel candidates posed a challenge in over 150 constituencies, with members from both Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their respective party’s official nominees.
The polling process saw 1,00,186 booths set up across Maharashtra, marking an increase from 96,654 booths in the 2019 elections. Security measures in Mumbai were heightened ahead of the counting, with police imposing restrictions on gatherings within a 300-metre radius of the 36 counting centres in the city, which covers 36 assembly constituencies.
In Pune, a poster depicting NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the next chief minister was briefly put up by a local party worker before being removed.
The 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly requires a majority of 145 seats for a party or alliance to form the government.
Ahead of the results, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appointed observers to oversee the post-election scenarios in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, and former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara were deputed to Maharashtra, while Tariq Anwar, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and Krishna Allavuru were assigned to Jharkhand.
Exit polls have presented a mixed picture, with most predicting a victory for the BJP-led alliances in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, though some suggest a narrow edge for the MVA in Maharashtra.
