BJP records highest vote share of 26.77%; NCP (SP) loses seats but bags more votes than NCP

Mumbai, Nov 24 (PTI) The BJP logged the highest vote share of 26.77 per cent in the Maharashtra assembly elections, winning 132 out of 149 seats it had contested and garnering 17,293,650 votes, as per ECI data.

The BJP's 132-seat haul marked a hat-trick of crossing the 100-seat mark in assembly elections. The saffron party had bagged 122 seats in the 2014 elections, which it contested solo without undivided Shiv Sena, and 105 seats in 2019 polls which it faced with the former ally Shiv Sena on its side.

The BJP's stellar performance at Maharashtra hustings, results of which were declared on Saturday, saw the party reaping a rich harvest of 132 seats in the 288-member House. Its Mahayuti partners Shiv Sena and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

The Congress, which won only 16 out of 101 seats it had contested, came a distant second with a 12.42 per cent vote share. The Grand Old Party polled 8,020,921 votes.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's tally of 57 seats out of 81 it had contested saw a vote share of 12.38 per cent and 7,996,930 votes.

Interestingly, the vote share of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the quantum of votes polled for the party surpassed the rival NCP faction despite the former's rout in the elections.

The NCP (SP) contested 86 seats but won only 10 with an 11.28 per cent vote share and 7,287,797 votes.

In contrast, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP registered a 9.01% vote share despite winning 41 of the 59 seats it had contested and polling 5,816,566 votes.

The rival Shiv Sena (UBT), which won 20 seats, logged a vote share of 9.96 per cent and polled 6,433,013 votes.

At 4,61,886, NOTA votes dropped to 0.72 per cent in Maharashtra.

A voter turnout of 66.05 per cent was recorded for the state assembly elections held on November 20, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019, according to Election Commission officials. PTI