The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led MahaYuti is headed for a thumping victory in the high-stakes Maharashtra Assembly elections while a pall of gloom prevails in the rival faction Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, SS (UBT) and NCP-SP, as per trends till 12 noon.
While the MVA is left grappling with the ‘Maha stunner’, the number crunching yields another startling detail about MahaYuti’s performance, particularly the BJP.
The latest trends reveal that BJP is showing a lead in 124, Shiv Sena in 56 and NCP in 37 seats. On the other hand, Congress, SS (UBT), and NCP-SP were ahead on 19, 19, and 13 seats respectively.
The current trends show the BJP alone fetching more seats than the combined MVA’s strength. Its strike rate in the Assembly elections came as a shock for the opposition alliance as the latter mounted an aggressive campaign to counter MahaYuti’s poll promises. The cash-for-votes scandal on a day before polling also seems to have had no impact on election results.
So far, according to available data, the strike rate of BJP stands at 84 per cent as it has led in 122 seats out of a total 148 it contested. That is the same for its allies Shiv Sena and NCP whose strike rates are too impressive to ignore. The Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde has managed a strike rate of 71 per cent, taking the lead in 58 out of 81 seats it contested, and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar earned a strike rate of 62 percent, managing the lead in 37 out of 59 constituencies that it fought.
On the other hand, MVA's strike rate as well as leads in early trends has come as a major setback, so much so that SS (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut termed it "unacceptable" and pressed for a fresh election.
The Congress contested 110 seats and is leading on just 20 seats, which gives it a strike rate of 19.2 per cent while Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP contested 92 and 86 seats respectively but are seen taking the lead on 18 and 10 seats respectively, thus garnering strike rates of 20.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent.
The outgoing Assembly had MahaYuti holding 186 seats amongst its three constituents.
Current trends would indicate that the alliance is well set to do better than it did then, and even by a larger margin than it did in 2019.
In 2019, the BJP won 105 seats while the undivided Shiv Sena won 56 seats taking the combined tally of the alliance to 161.
Read also| Sex Video Scandal: Karnataka HC Denies Prajwal Revanna Bail in Fourth Case
Read also| ‘Want More PMs Like Him’: Clive Lloyd After Meeting Narendra Modi
