Assembly polls in India: Mahayuti set for landslide win in Maharashtra; INDIA bloc cross majority in J'khand

It's election season in India as the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand recently voted in assembly polls. The election for 288 seats in Maharashtra was held in a single phase on November 20, while Jharkhand voted in two phases – November 13 and November 20 – for a total of 81 assembly seats.

The counting of votes in Maharashtra and Jharkhand began at 8:00 am local time on Saturday (Nov 23). The counting of votes also began for 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states.

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These elections come months after the Lok Sabha election was held in India, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged victorious, and formed the central government for a third consecutive term.

> Latest trends from the Election Commission of India (ECI) show that the NDA-led Mahayuti is set for a landslide victory in Maharashtra. The Mahayuti comprises the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP- Ajit Pawar faction), and other smaller parties.

Click here to follow all updates on vote counting in Maharashtra

> ECI trends showed that the Mahayuti has crossed the 145-seat majority mark in Maharashtra as it is leading in over 210 seats. The alliance has won 10 seats so far.

>Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindeexpressed his gratitude to the voters and thanked the party workers for expected win.

>"I thank all the workers of Mahayuti. PM Modi, Amit Shah bhai, Nadda ji - all supported us. They gave priority to Maharashtra. I am proud that I have been proven right about what I had said that we will win 200 seats. We (Mahayuti) fought like a team...," Chief Minister Shinde said.

> The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, meanwhile, is trailing as it is leading in just a little over 50 assembly seats.The MVA comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

> Till now, the MVA has only won one seat.

> Latest trends from the ECI showed that the INDIA bloc is leading in Jharkhand. The INDIA bloc comprises the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with smaller parties.

> Trends show that the INDIA bloc is leading with57seats in Jharkhand, crossing the majority mark of 40 seats.

> The BJP-led NDA, meanwhile, is trailing as it has secured lead in over 21seats.

Click here to follow all updates on vote counting in Jharkhand

> Reacting to the trends, Union Minister and BJP leader Sanjay Seth expressed confidence that the BJP will fight back and maintain its lead in Jharkhand.

> "...Jharkhand has 81 seats and Maharashtra has 288 seats. The scope is greater there. We have 81 seats, so the scope is less. But I can confidently say that as the sun goes up, the gap will increase...I can confidently say that the wave of change that was seen in Jharkhand - corruption, vote jihad, shattering of the dreams of youth, atrocities of women in 5 years," Union Minister Seth told the news agency ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)