Maharashtra, Jharkhand poll results: Counting begins at 8 am tomorrow

As Maharashtra and Jharkhand gear up for the upcoming poll results, all eyes are on the political battlegrounds where candidates will face off for crucial legislative control. The counting of votes in Maharashtra and Jharkhand will start at 8 am on Saturday, with results trickling in by 9 am. 

The former will focus on the outcome of the context between the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, whereas the latter will have its eyes set on whether the BJP-led NDA or the JMM-led alliance will form the next government. 

For Maharashtra, the final turnout in the polls, held on November 20, was 66.05 per cent, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019, election officials said. A total of 288 counting centres have been set up for the counting of votes.

In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP contested 149 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. 

In the opposition's MVA combine, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) put up 86 candidates. Parties like Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), also contested, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM putting up 17 candidates. 

This year, 4,136 candidates contested, up from 3,239 in 2019 elections. Among these candidates, 2,086 were independents. Rebels were in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party's official nominees. There were 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections.

The majority mark in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly is 145, the number any alliance or party needs to crack to be able to form government in the state. The term of the present state assembly ends on November 26. 

In the Jharkhand polls, voter turnout reached a record 67.74 per cent. The elections were held in two phases – November 13 and 20. The first phase covered 43 constituencies out of the total 81 seats, while the second phase saw voting in 38 seats.

The state experienced a heated electoral contest between the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana, and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri are among the prominent candidates in Jharkhand's Assembly election, with 1,211 candidates vying for 81 seats. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and JP Nadda, and several state chief ministers, held extensive rallies, criticizing the JMM-led coalition for corruption and infiltration. While some exit polls predict that the BJP-led NDA is likely to oust the ruling JMM-led coalition, others forecast the return of the INDIA alliance in Jharkhand. 

The vote counting for bypolls across 46 Assembly seats in 13 states will commence at 8 am tomorrow, with results expected to trickle in by 9 am.