The Maharashtra Assembly polls painted a stark picture of the state’s political dynamics, with smaller parties struggling to stay relevant amid the dominance of larger alliances. The ruling Mahayuti coalition, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured a resounding victory, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—comprising the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), and Congress—was left to play catch-up.

Caught in this polarised contest, smaller parties like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray, Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and Raju Shetti’s Swabhimani Paksha failed to make any significant headway. Despite fielding hundreds of candidates, their performance remained underwhelming, with vote shares barely scratching the surface.