Maharashtra Assembly polls: Mahayuti set for landslide win; MVA cries foul
The BJP is poised to win 125 of the 149 seats it contested
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 220 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
As votes were counted for the assembly elections in the two states, it was time for celebration in the BJP with the party poised to win 125 of the 149 seats it contested in the powerhouse state of Maharashtra. Together with its partners Shiv Sena and NCP, the ruling Mahayuti alliance could win 220 of the 288 seats in the state, leaving the Congress-Shiv Sena(UBT)-NCP(SP) tie-up with just 51 seats.
“I thank everybody for this victory. We have such a big victory because of the work Mahayuti did. Very grateful,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters while his alliance colleagues attributed the stunning win to welfare schemes such as the Laadli Behna scheme.
His son and Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said the mandate shows who is taking Balasaheb Thackeray's ideals forward, pointing to the fractured legacy of the Shiv Sena founder whose son Uddhav heads the Shiv Sena (UBT).
As the Mahayuti walked the road towards power in a result that went ahead of what exit polls had predicted, on the other side of the spectrum was Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut who alleged that there was a "big conspiracy" and something was "fishy".
"I see a big conspiracy in this...This is not a mandate of Marathi 'manoos' and farmers. We do not accept this as people's mandate,” he said.
Adding that there was little doubt in his mind that money was used in the polls, Raut said, "How can all MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde win? How can Ajit Pawar, whose betrayal angered Maharashtra, win?"
Their mandate gives a fillip for the BJP, which won an unprecedented hat-trick in Haryana last month, and helps the party overcome some of its reverses in the general elections where it bagged just 240 seats.
The Maharashtra verdict -- which gives primacy to the BJP within the Mahayuti alliance and opens up the possibility of a shift in power with Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister again - was the stuff of sober introspection too for the Congress and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.
(With Agency inputs)