NDA Back With A Landslide Win Maharashtra, INDIA retains Jharkhand

New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a landslide victory in Maharashtra, with the BJP set to win 130 seats and solidify its position as the state’s largest party. In Jharkhand, the JMM-Congress coalition defied exit polls, crossing the majority mark and securing a second straight term in power.
In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena—sailed past the halfway mark comfortably. The alliance won 231 seats and was leading on 2 others at 10.30 pm. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won 49 seats in the 288-member Assembly. The majority mark in Maharashtra is 145.
Jharkhand witnessed a pitched battle initially, but the ruling coalition led by Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) eventually went past the majority mark of 41 in the 81-member assembly, with the alliance winning 56 seats. The NDA was a distant second, winning 24 seats.
The verdict is also out for 48 assembly bypolls across 13 states and two key parliamentary constituencies: Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala.
Wayanad, which was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, was touted as a prestige battle for the Congress. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who made her poll debut from the Kerala seat, comfortably won the parliamentary constituency.
Verdict out on Maharashtra, Jharkhand and bypolls:
The ruling Mahayuti alliance retained power in Maharashtra with a massive mandate. At a post-victory press briefing, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, attributed their success to the Ladki Bahin Yojana, a women-centric welfare scheme, dubbing it a “game changer”.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi was handed a humiliating defeat in the poll. Reacting to the loss, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut rejected the results as “rigged”. “Has any party in this state ever gotten 200 seats? This cannot be the decision of the people of Maharashtra. If MVA cannot win 75 seats, that means Modi and Shah have rigged the results. This is a mandate managed by Adani and gang,” Raut claimed.
At the victory rally at BJP headquarters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said development, good governance, true social justice won in Maharashtra; and lies, deceit badly lost.
In individual contests, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar won their respective constituencies of Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Nagpur South West, and Baramati, respectively. Opposition leaders saw mixed results: Aaditya Thackeray (Shiv Sena UBT) won Worli, while Congress state president Nana Patole won Sakoli by 208 votes.
In Jharkhand, the JMM-led alliance stormed back to power for the second consecutive term. The coalition won 56 seats in the 81-member assembly. Hemant Soren’s JMM won 24 seats, while its ally Congress bagged 16 seats.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren won in Barhait and his wife, Kalpana Soren won from Gandey. BJP state chief Babulal Marandi led in Dhanwar, while former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who shifted to the BJP from the JMM, won from Seraikela by 20,000 votes.
Meanwhile, in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, debutante Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won by over 4 lakh votes. Congress leader Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao also emerged victorious on the Nanded Lok Sabha seat.
In Uttar Pradesh, bypoll was held on nine seats. The BJP won six seats, while the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal won two seats and one seats, respectively. In Uttarakhand, the BJP won the Kedarnath Assembly seat. In Kerala, Congress won Palakkad seat and CPI(M) won Chelakkara seat.
The ruling NDA won three of the four Assembly seats in Bihar, while Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won one. In the West Bengal bypoll, the Trinamool Congress grabbed all six Assembly seats.
In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party won three seats and Congress claimed one seat. In Rajasthan, the BJP won 5 seats and the Congress and the Bharat Adivasi Party won one each. In Karnataka, the Congress won all three seats– Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna.