As voting ended for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly elections on Wednesday, most of the exit polls have predicted an edge to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance.
The ABP-Matrize exit poll has predicted 150-170 seats for the ruling front which also comprises Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). According to the pollster, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi—an alliance of Congress, NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT)—is likely to get 110-130 seats. The other parties in the fray may get 8-10 seats.
The majority mark in the house is 145.
The Republic TV-PMARQ has predicted a tight contest though it puts the Mahayuti’s tally at 137-157 against the MVA’s 126-147 seats. As per the poll, the ruling alliance is likely to get a vote share of 42 per cent against the opposition bloc’s 41 per cent. The pollster has predicted 2-8 seats for others.
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The Chanakya Strategies has predicted a clear majority for the ruling alliance and pegs it at 152-160. The MVA, on the other hand, is likely to bag 130-138 seats and the others 6-8 seats.
The ‘Peoples Pulse’ has projected Mahayuti scoring a decisive victory by getting 175-195 seats. It says the opposition alliance is poised to get only 85-112 seats while others may win 7-12 seats.
According to the Poll Diary prediction, the Mahayuti is likely to win 122-186 seats while the opposition front may bag 69-121 seats.
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Voting ended for the high-stakes elections at 6 pm on Wednesday and the results will be declared on November 23. According to poll officials, the state witnessed 58 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm.
Close contest in Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, where the second phase of polling was held on Wednesday, the exit polls have predicted a slight majority for the BJP-led NDA while some of the pollsters have given an edge to the ruling INDIA bloc.
While the JMM-Congress alliance is vying to retain power, the BJP is hoping to make considerable inroads and form government in the tribal dominated state.
The majority mark in the 81-member house is 41.
The ABP-Matrize exit poll has predicted 47 seats for the NDA and 30 seats for the INDIA bloc. The others may get four seats.
The ‘Peoples Pulse’ has projected the NDA scoring 44-53 seats. The ruling alliance may bag 25-37 seats while the others are likely to win 5-9 seats.
However, according to Axis My India projection, the NDA is likely to get only 25 seats while the INDIA bloc is poised to win 53 seats. Three seats may go to others.
The JVC’s Exit Poll has also predicted a close contest. As per this pollster, the JMM-Congress alliance is likely to bag 30-40 seats while the BJP-led bloc may win 40-44 seats.