Counting to 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra to begin soon, verdict on Jharkhand, bypolls to come out today

Visuals from a counting centre in Mumbai's Mahim:

A counting centre in Nagpur South West, where Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Maha Vikas Aghadi's Praful Vinodrao Gudadhe (Congress) are contesting:

Ahead of the counting of votes for the Maharashtra elections 2024, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Wadala, Shraddha Jadhav, said, "Results will come out today. Our victory is certain, you will see it... Maha Vikas Aghadi will form the government."

Earlier, leaders from the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) expressed confidence in their respective victories ahead of the vote counting.

Arrangements are also in place for counting votes for the Jharkhand assembly polls and bypolls on 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states. Counting begins at 8 am, with trends expected to emerge in Maharashtra and Jharkhand within the next two hours.

In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is engaged in a fierce contest with the MVA, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).

Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly took place on Wednesday, recording a turnout of 66.05%, compared to nearly 61% in the 2019 assembly elections. Both Mahayuti and MVA leaders view the increased voter turnout as a positive sign for their respective alliances.

State Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam praised efforts to boost voter participation.

"The Election Commission of India gave significant focus, attention, and time to Maharashtra this time. Each strategy was conceptualised and implemented with high precision. This resulted in a significant addition to the voter list between the Parliament election and the current election. Efforts were made to ease voting, especially in places like Mumbai, where there were challenges during the Parliament elections. This time, everyone appreciated the arrangements," he said.

"So much work has been done. The Election Commission thanks all the voters who turned up on the day to ensure history was created. We achieved a 5% increase in turnout. Nearly 6 lakh officers and employees worked tirelessly to ensure voters could cast their votes with ease," he added.

In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 148 seats, Shiv Sena (led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) 80, and NCP (led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar) 52. Six additional seats have Mahayuti candidates in the fray.

In the MVA alliance, Congress is contesting 102 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 96, and NCP (SP) 86. The Samajwadi Party and smaller MVA allies are contesting two seats each.

In the 2019 elections, BJP won 105 seats, the undivided Shiv Sena 56, the undivided NCP 54, Congress 44, independents 13, and others 16 seats.

In Jharkhand, the first phase of polling was conducted in 43 of the 81 assembly seats on November 13.

Among the constituents of the INDIA bloc, JMM is contesting 43 seats, Congress 30, RJD six, and CPI(ML) four. The BJP is contesting 68 seats, AJSU 10, JD(U) two, and LJP one seat.

In the previous assembly election, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats, the BJP 25, and Congress 16 seats.

The bypolls were also fiercely contested across various states, including Uttar Pradesh, where nine assembly seats saw polling on Wednesday. Bypolls were held in 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states. In Wayanad, Kerala, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut. The bypolls were conducted in two phases. (ANI)