Maharashtra Election Results 2024 Lok Sabha Highlights: Congress dominates with 13 seats, NDA misses target

As per the early trends, the INDIA bloc and NDA are in a tight battle. Both the camps are leading in 23 seats.

Here are some of the closely watched battles:

According to initial trends from the ECI as of 9 AM, the BJP is leading in 75 seats, Congress in 25 seats, Samajwadi Party in 8 seats, and AAP in 5 seats, as per ANI.

First trends are showing NDA alliance in the lead in the state on 27 seats, meanwhile the INDIA bloc is leading on 18 seats.

Sunetra Pawar has taken the lead from Supriya Sule in Baramati, CNBCTV18 reported.

NCP’s Supriya Sule has started trailing in Baramati, as per frist trends, Times Now reported.

Varsha Gaikwad is leading in Mumbai North Central, meanwhile Arvind Sawant is leading from Mumbai South, as per first trends.

Here are how many Contests for Maharashtra‘s 48 seats are as follows:

As per the first trends, Union Minister Piyush Goyal is leading from Mumbai North, while Supriya Sule is leading from Baramati

In Maharashtra, the vote counting is taking place at 289 counting halls and 4,309 counting tables, involving 14,507 personnel.

With a turnout of 71.88 per cent, the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency recorded the highest polling, whereas Mumbai South registered the lowest turnout at 50.06 per cent.

The first trends show Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is leading in Nagpur, Times Now reported.

The security was heightened at some of centres in the Capital city, Mumbai, ahead of the counting of votes. Security personnel could be seen conducting intensive patrolling and checking at the Eastern Express Highway.

The counting of votes has begun.

In Maharashtra, there are 9.29 crore registered voters. Among them, 5.70 crore exercised their voting rights, marking a slight rise from the 2019 elections when 60.79 percent of voters participated. The election outcomes are slated to be announced on June 4.

Ahead of the vote counting, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met MNS chief Raj Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai’s Dadar area on Monday, PTI reported. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief had supported the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, in the Lok Sabha elections.

The last phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Phase 7, was held on June 1. The phase recorded an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent.

One of the biggest opposition the BJP and its allies face in Maharashtra is the Maha Vikas Aghadi which comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). 

Maharashtra Congress President, Nana Patole in an interaction with ANI said that the INDIA alliance will win more than 300 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi orchestrated the exit polls and labeled them as “psychological games”. They emphasised that the actual results would diverge significantly from these projections.

In a major setback to Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission in February declared the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party as the “real” NCP.

About 34% candidates who have been fielded by major parties in Maharashtra are political dynasts. The BJP, competing for the most seats in the state, has nominated the largest number of dynastic candidates, totaling 13.

According to three separate polls conducted on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA is projected to surpass the 400-seat mark. Initially, the majority of exit polls indicated that the NDA could secure over 350 seats out of the 543 in the 18th Lok Sabha Elections, but might fall short of reaching the 400-seat threshold.

Certain cinema halls in Mumbai and its adjacent regions will broadcast election results for a six-hour duration on June 4.

Exit polls in Maharashtra forecast a decisive victory for the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, while indicating a probable defeat for the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is anticipated to maintain an advantage in the race for Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. Most exit polls showed that the Mahayuti coalition, comprising the BJP and splinter factions of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, is projected to secure between 35-40 seats in the state.

Sharad Pawar, the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), expressed confidence that the Opposition would secure 30-35 seats out of Maharashtra‘s 48 Lok Sabha seats.

For the BJP, Mission-45 marks a pivotal battle in Maharashtra‘s political landscape. With 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the party aims to secure at least 45 seats. Collaborating with the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), they are collectively pursuing this ambitious target.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP clinched 23 seats, while its ally secured 18 seats, totaling to 41 seats together.

Some of the key battles which will garner a lot of attention are as follows:

The Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat, home to some of the wealthiest Indians, saw the lowest voter turnout in the state at 50.06 percent. It was followed by the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat, where CM Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde contested, with a turnout of 50.12 percent. The Mumbai North Central constituency had a turnout of 51.98 percent.

In the five-phase general elections in the state, women trailed men in voter turnout by 4 percentage points. Official data reveals that out of a total of 4.46 crore women electors, 2.63 crore cast their votes, representing around 59 percent of the total female voters. In contrast, 3.06 crore men out of a total of 4.83 crore cast their votes, constituting 63 percent of male voters. Overall, the voter turnout in Maharashtra for this election stood at 61.33 percent.

Voting in Maharashtra occurred across five of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha election. The average voter turnout across the state’s 48 seats was 61.33%. The third phase recorded the highest turnout at 63.55%, while the fifth phase, which included Mumbai’s six seats, had the lowest turnout at 56.89%.