Barring certain Lok Sabha constituencies, Maharashtra's ruling MahaYuti has belied political expectations while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has exceeded public perceptions as the counting of votes for the state's 48 seats progressed on Tuesday.
As per the current trend, the MVA was leading in 29 LS seats – the Congress 12, the Shiv Sena-UBT 11, and the Nationalist Congress Party-SP 6, while the MahaYuti was trending in 19 seats – the Bharatiya Janata Party 12, the Shiv Sena 5, and Nationalist Congress Party in one, besides one independent.
Erstwhile political allies-turned-foes BJP and SS-UBT are the biggest winners from their respective alliances, as the picture continues to unfold.
Political observers termed it as a ‘harbinger of change’, with implications for the Maharashtra Assembly elections due in October, particularly for the MahaYuti cobbled up by the BJP with two splinter groups - the Shiv Sena and the NCP - now resented by the voters.
The most-watched seat of Baramati has kept faith with sitting member and NCP-SP Working President Supriya Sule, while her ‘nanad’ (sister-in-law) Sunetra Ajit Pawar, wife of NCP President and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, trailed. The BJP’s confidence was shattered in Chandrapur where its nominee and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was trailing far behind the Congress’ Pratibha S. Dhanorkar.
However, the BJP had reasons to smile in Pune where its candidate Murlidhar Mohol was comfortably leading over the Congress rival Ravindra Dhangekar. The Shiv Sena nominee in Kalyan Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde piled up a strong lead over the SS-UBT’s Vaishali Darekar-Rane, and ditto with Thane where its nominee Naresh Mhaske was leading comfortably over SS-UBT’s Rajan Vichare.
The BJP was also on the way to scoring in Mumbai North Central where Ujjwal Nikam was leading, and NCP’s state President Sunil Tatkare was trending over the SS-UBT's heavyweight Anant Geete in Raigad.
Congress nominee Chhatrapati Shrimant Shahu Maharaj was set for a victory walk in Kolhapur, but the BJP was downcast in Satara where its candidate Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale was trailing behind NCP-SP's Shashikant Shinde.
In a few seats like Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West, Mumbai South Central, Solapur, Amravati, and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, a tough fight is witnessed with the outcome swinging either the MahaYuti’s side or in MVA’s favour.
Apparently pleased by the likely outcome, Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut asserted that the INDIA bloc is set to bring a change in the country’s political landscape with the manner in which it has performed all over. Considering the Congress’ strong run in the country, the party is likely to emerge as the single largest entity and Rahul Gandhi could lead the nation, Raut told media persons.
© 2024 IANS. All rights reserved.