Exit polls give thumbs up for BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra, Jharkhand
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Exit polls by various pollster organisations on Wednesday gave a clear edge to the BJP-led alliances (Mahayuti) in the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections held on Wednesday, while some put the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Congress-UBT-NCP(SP) coalition, ahead.
Axis MyIndia was the only one to predict victory for the Congress-JMM alliance in Jharkhand with 53 seats out of 81, with the BJP-led NDA winning 25 seats. Dainik Bhaskar exit poll predicted hung assemblies in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Exit polls were out soon after the close of polling in Maharashtra and the second phase of voting in Jharkhand.
Maharashtra
In the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, 145 is the majority mark, while it is 41 in the 81-seat Jharkhand. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance is in power in Maharashtra while JMM-Congress is ruling in Jharkhand.
In Maharashtra, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, is set to win a massive majority if the exit polls are to be believed. Some are predicting the block will win up to 182 seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), is predicted to win up to 121 seats in the 288-member assembly.
While the Matrize exit poll conducted in a tie-up with several news organisations predicted 150-170 seats for the BJP and allies in Maharashtra with a 48 per cent vote share, it gave the Congress and other allies only 110-130 seats with a vote share of 42 per cent. The poll gave others eight to 10 seats, with a vote share of 10 per cent.
The exit poll conducted by People's Pulse gave Mahayuti a whopping 175-195 seats but gave only 85-112 seats to MVA and 7-12 to others in Maharashtra.
Contrary to prevailing projections, Dainik Bhaskar's exit poll has forecasted a hung Assembly in Maharashtra. The poll forecasts that the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance could secure 125-140 seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi is projected to win 135-150 seats. Independent candidates and smaller parties are expected to claim 20-25 seats, making neither bloc likely to achieve a clear majority.
Another poll by P-MARQ in Maharashtra gave the NDA a total of 137-157 seats and INDIA Bloc's MVA 126-146 seats while giving 2-8 seats to others.
On the other hand, the poll conducted by Electoral Edge predicted MVA to win 150 seats while giving 121 seats to BJP-led Mahayuti and 20 seats to others in Maharashtra.
Exit polls by Poll Diary predicted the NDA to win in 122-186 seats and the MVA 69-121 while forecasting 12-29 seats for others in Maharashtra.
Another pollster, Chanakya Strategies, predicted 152-160 seats for Mahayuti and 130-138 seats for MVA while giving six to eight seats for others in Maharashtra.
Lokshahi Rudra predicted a close fight between Mahayuti and MVA in Maharashtra, giving them 128-142 seats and 125-140 seats, respectively. It gave others 18-23 seats, PTI reported.
The exit poll by Lokpoll gave Mahayuti 115-128 seats, with 37-40 per cent vote share, and predicted victory for MVA in 151-162 seats, giving them 43-46 per cent vote share. It gave others 5-14 seats with a vote share of 16-19 per cent.
Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, the Matrize predicted 42-47 seats for NDA and 25-30 seats for the INDIA bloc and gave 0-4 seats to others. Dainik Bhaskar however, projects the NDA winning 37-40 seats and the INDIA alliance securing 36-39 seats, leaving both short of the 41-seat majority mark.
In Jharkhand, People's Pulse predicted 44-53 seats for NDA and 25-37 seats for INDIA Bloc while giving 5-9 seats to others.
Axis MyIndia has predicted a 45 per cent vote share for the INDIA bloc and 37 per cent for the NDA.
A survey conducted by Delhi University's Centre for Global Studies (CGS) has predicted electoral victories for the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra and the NDA in Jharkhand.
Some exit polls have also predicted the BJP's victory in 5-7 seats out of bypolls held in nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The votes will be counted on November 23 for the single-phase Maharashtra election held on Wednesday and the two-phased voting in Jharkhand on November 13 and 20.