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Bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand were also conducted on Wednesday. The results for all the elections will be out on November 23
Exit polls indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies may have the edge in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand following victories in the April-June Lok Sabha elections and last month’s Haryana polls. (Representational photo/PTI)
The last vote was cast around 6 pm on Wednesday in the packed election year of 2024 as the 288 assembly seats of Maharashtra voted in a single phase, while Jharkhand saw polling for 38 seats with the first round of voting for the 81-member assembly held on November 13. Bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand were also conducted on Wednesday. The results for all the elections will be out on November 23.
Exit polls indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies may have the edge in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand following victories in the April-June Lok Sabha elections and last month’s Haryana polls.
Maharashtra
ABP-Matrize has predicted 150-170 seats for Mahayuti and 110-130 for the Maha Vikas Aghadi. P-MarQ has given 137-157 seats to the Mahayuti and 126-146 to the MVA. Chanakya has predicted 152-160 seats for Mahayuti and 130-138 for the MVA. Poll Diary has indicated that Mahayuti may net 137-157 seats and MVA 126-146. People’s Pulse has predicted 182 seats for the Mahayuti and 97 for the MVA. Lokshahi Marathi-Rudra foresees a neck-and-neck fight with 128-142 seats for the Mahayuti and 125-140 for the MVA.
Bhaskar Reporters’ Poll is the outlier, predicting 135-150 seats for the MVA and 125-140 for the Mahayuti.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the (then undivided) Shiv Sena dominated, winning 161 of 288 seats. However, the alliance fell apart over the sharing of power, and the Sena joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress to form the government.
But, in 2023, rebellions by Sena’s Eknath Shinde, who is now Maharashtra chief minister, and NCP’s Ajit Pawar, now his deputy, forced then CM Uddhav Thackeray to step down and his coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi government to collapse.
While the April-June general elections this year saw Narendra Modi become a three-time Prime Minister, the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra won just 17 of the 48 parliamentary seats, falling behind the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).
Jharkhand
According to the Matrize exit poll, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is likely to get between 42 and 47 seats, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal ruling coalition (part of the INDIA bloc) is expected to win around 25 to 30, with others clinching between one and four seats. As per the Times Now exit poll, the NDA is expected to win 40 to 44 seats in the state, while the JMM-led coalition is likely to win 30 to 40. The People’s Pulse exit poll too gives the edge to the NDA, predicting 44-53 seats for the alliance with the JMM-led coalition behind at 25-37. Other candidates are expected to clinch five to nine seats. However, AXIS-My India is the outlier, predicting that the JMM-led alliance is likely to sweep the state with 53 out of the total 81 seats.
In the 2019 assembly elections, chief minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, won 47 of the state’s 82 seats.
Earlier this year, Hemant Soren resigned as CM ahead of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges. He was briefly replaced by Champai Soren, a veteran politician and close aide of party patriarch Shibu Soren. But after Hemant returned to the CM’s chair following his release on bail, Champai rebelled and later quit to join the BJP.
In the April-June Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won eight seats in the state with a 44.6% vote share, and its ally AJSU won one seat with a 2.62% vote share. The INDIA bloc combined won just five seats—three by the JMM and two by the Congress, with vote shares of 14.6% and 19.19%, respectively.
