Maharashtra polls: Mahayuti, MVA leaders optimistic of victory

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 keenlywatched outcome that has longterm implications for various players particularly from the two factions of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party NCP which have seen splitsVotes 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 PawarPolling for the 288member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was held on Wednesday A total of 6605 per cent polling was recorded in the state against nearly 61 per cent in the 2019 Assembly ElectionsMahayuti and MVA leaders are both interpreting the increased voting percentage as a sign of greater support for them reported news agency ANILauding the increased voter participation in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 States 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 arrangementsSo 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 addedBJP contesting on 148 seats Congress on 102Among the Mahayuti the BJP is contesting on the largest number of seats mdash 148 mdash followed by Chief Minister CM Eknath Shindeled 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 frayIn 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 alliesOn 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 reportedPeople 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 ANIMeanwhile Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav expressed confidence that Mahayuti will retain power in the stateMahayuti will form the government We are going to win with a majorityThe result will be in our favour The name of the CM will be announced after the result There is no competition in the allianceWe will get above 200 seats he saidMVA will get 160165 seatsMost exit polls predicted Mahayutis victory with some suggesting that it is a tight race between the two alliancesBJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA bloc will be wiped out in Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly pollsThose 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 Congressled alliance will be wiped out The people will give a befitting reply to the corrupt parivarvaad parties PM Narendra Modis government which works for the poor women and the youth will get the blessings of the people Chugh told ANIShiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut said MVA will get 160165 seats At least 145 seats are required to cross the majority in the Maharashtra AssemblyThe results will be out tomorrow We are sure that we are going to get the majority Around 160165 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 saidThis is the first election after the splits in NCP and Shiv SenaResults of Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 2 LS seats also tomorrowIn 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 seatsThe results have implications for all the four major parties particularly NCP and Shiv SenaThackeray 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 2024His 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 Thackerays legacyNCP also suffered a split with Pawar joining the ruling alliance as Deputy CM in July 2023His 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 politicsA 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 governmentResults will also be declared tomorrow for the Jharkhand Assembly polls tomorrow along with the bypolls to 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seatsWith ANI inputs