Fingers Crossed on Maha, J’khand Poll Results

Bhubaneswar: Barely two days are left for counting of ballots for Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly election. Even as pollsters predict huge advantage to ruling alliance in Maharashtra and the NDA in Jharkhand, leaders keep their fingers crossed on the outcome. The Haryana Assembly election predictions which went haywire has forced the politicians of all contesting parties to maintain low profile ahead of the counting that will be taken up from the morning of November 23.

The results of both the elections have many things at stake for both the INDI alliance and the NDA. The Congress which was upbeat after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was mellowed down with the drubbing in Haryana and the approach of the party has been lackluster during the Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls. The party had mustered all its strength at Wayanad where senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is testing her luck in her maiden attempt. But rarely any senior leader of the party campaigned earnestly in either Maharashtra or Jharkhand. JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has criticized the Congress for its approach during the polls and has apprehended a poor show by the INDIA bloc.

In Maharashtra, the Congress was far behind the NDA in finalizing candidates list and campaigning. The Congress boss Rahul Gandhi though addressed few rallies in the state, it did not appear convincing. The last minute press conference of Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai on the last day of campaigning also added more owes to the INDIA bloc. The Gandhi scion displayed a poster to hype the alleged nexus of industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi which he often does. But the BJP lost no time to circulate the snaps of Telangana Chief Minister Revant Reddy posing with Adani and that of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with the industrialist.
This caused a lot of embarrassment for the Congress leaders.

Meanwhile, exit polls have predicted a strong showing for the BJP-led alliance in the Maharashtra assembly elections, with several surveys projecting a clear edge over the Congress-led coalition.
The ruling BJP-Sena-NCP alliance is likely to retain power in the state according to them. The majority mark in the 288-member assembly stands at 145. According to P-Marq, the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra is projected to win between 137 and 157 seats, while the Congress-led alliance is expected to secure 126 to 146 seats, with others taking 2 to 8 seats.

The Matrize exit poll offers an even more decisive victory for the BJP-led alliance, predicting it will win 150 to 170 seats, leaving the Congress-led coalition with 110 to 130 seats, and others securing 8 to 10 seats. These results suggest the BJP alliance is set to consolidate its position in Maharashtra, leveraging its incumbent advantage. The official results, however, will confirm the exit poll predictions.

The Peoples Pulse exit poll for Maharashtra has projected a strong performance for the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The poll forecasts the alliance securing 175 to 195 seats, far exceeding the majority mark of 145. In contrast, the opposition MVA alliance is projected to secure between 85 and 112 seats, leaving them well behind the ruling coalition. The ‘Others’ are expected to secure 7 to 12 seats according them. The Times Now-JVC exit poll for Maharashtra projects a strong performance for the Mahayuti alliance, predicting it will win between 150-167 seats. The MVA is projected to secure 107-125 seats. Meanwhile, others are likely to win 13-14 seats.

The Chanakya exit poll predicts that the Mahayuti alliance will secure 152-160 seats. The MVA is expected to win between 130-138 seats. And 6-8 seats are projected to win by others. The Dainik Bhaskar on the other hand has predicted an edge for the MVA with 135-150 seats. According to them, the Mahayuti alliance is expected to win 125-140 seats. They have also predicted around 20-25 seats to be won by others. The Electoral Edge has predicted a comfortable win for the MVA alliance with 150 seats while it expected the Mahayuti alliance to settle with 118 seats. It predicted 20 seats to be won by others.