BJP-led Mahayuti sweeps Maharashtra, oppn INDIA to bag Jharkhand

MUMBAI/RANCHI, Nov 23: Maharashtra was coloured a vivid saffron on Saturday with voters giving the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance a landslide win over a tottering MVA while the opposition INDIA bloc looked set to return to power in Jharkhand.

As votes were counted for the assembly elections in the two states, it was time for celebration in the BJP with the party poised to win 125 of the 149 seats it contested in the powerhouse state of Maharashtra. Together with its partners Shiv Sena and NCP, the ruling Mahayuti alliance could win 219 of the 288 seats in the state, leaving the Congress-Shiv Sena(UBT)-NCP(SP) tie-up with just 51 seats.

As the opposition reeled under the impact of the decisive mandate against it in Maharashtra, Jharkhand offered some consolation with voters in both states going for continuity rather than change.

In the 81-seat Jharkhand assembly, the BJP was ahead in 27 seats, while the Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led JMM was leading in 30 seats, the Congress in 14, the RJD in four and the CPI-ML in one, according to the Election Commission website.

"We are going to get the reward for the work we did... and also for the manner in which we remained connected to the public. What can be seen in trends, we can say that we are going to form the govt again and the fulfil the promises we made," Congress leader Rajesh Thakur told PTI Videos as the INDIA bloc neared victory in Jharkhand.

“I thank everybody for this victory. We have such a big victory because of the work Mahayuti did. Very grateful,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters while his alliance colleagues attributed the stunning win to welfare schemes such as the Laadli Behna scheme.

His son and Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said the mandate shows who is taking Balasaheb Thackeray's ideals forward, pointing to the fractured legacy of the Shiv Sena founder whose son Uddhav heads the Shiv Sena (UBT).

As the Mahayuti walked the road towards power in a result that went ahead of what exit polls had predicted, on the other side of the spectrum was Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut who alleged that there was a "big conspiracy" and something was "fishy".

"I see a big conspiracy in this...This is not a mandate of Marathi 'manoos' and farmers. We do not accept this as people's mandate,” he said.

Adding that there was little doubt in his mind that money was used in the polls, Raut said, "How can all MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde win? How can Ajit Pawar, whose betrayal angered Maharashtra, win?"

Voters in the politically significant western state, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha and gave the MVA a decisive 30 seats, clearly decided to go against the trend of that parliamentary victory just five months ago.

Their mandate gives a fillip for the BJP, which won an unprecedented hat-trick in Haryana last month, and helps the party overcome some of its reverses in the general elections where it bagged just 240 seats.

The Maharashtra verdict -- which gives primacy to the BJP within the Mahayuti alliance and opens up the possibility of a shift in power with Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister again - was the stuff of sober introspection too for the Congress and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.

The BJP was ahead in 125 seats, close to the halfway mark of 144 on its own, while the Shiv Sena had leads in 56 and the NCP in 35. In contrast, the Congress was ahead in just 21, the Shiv Sena(UBT) in 17 and the NCP(SP) in 13.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde and his deputies Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were leading in their respective assembly constituencies. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole was leading narrowly from the Sakoli constituency and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and sitting MLA Aaditya Thackeray was leading in the Worli assembly seat.

BJP MLC Darekar said, "Based on the current trends, I believe the BJP will be the single largest party and Devendra Fadnavis should become the chief minister.”

The Congress, for which Priyanka Gandhi’s win in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll is the proverbial silver lining in a dark cloud, counted its reverses in Maharashtra. Its legislature party leader and former minister Balasaheb Thorat was trailing in Sangamner as was senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the Karad South assembly seat.

“It's devastating, heartbreaking for us ... The BJP is leading due to the amazing groundwork they must've done and seat distribution," Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal told deKoder.

In the ruling Mahayuti alliance, the BJP contested 149 assembly seats, the Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in 59 constituencies. In the MVA combine, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena(UBT) 95 and the NCP(SP) 86.

The results will decide the electoral fate of 1,211 candidates in Jharkhand, including Soren, his wife Kalpana from Gandey, former CM and BJP state president Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar and ex-CM Champai Soren from Seraikela.

Other prominent candidates include Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato of the JMM from Nala, Deepika Pandey Singh of Congress from Mahagama, Sita Soren (sister-in-law of CM Hemant Soren) from Jamtara, AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto from Silli.