Exit polls predict advantage for Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, close fight in Jharkhand
Mumbai/IBNS: The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde faction and Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar, will taste victory in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, five out of nine exit polls predicted on Wednesday evening, as voting concluded in one of the most politically crucial states.
Meanwhile, three exit polls predicted a hung Assembly as they believe no single party will be able to secure a majority to form the next government.
However, an aggregate of these exit polls indicates favourable conditions for the NDA while they predicted a close fight in Jharkhand.
An average of all exit polls gave the ruling alliance 150 seats, which is eight more than the majority needed in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. The majority mark in the assembly stands at 145.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi will bag 125 seats while non-aligned parties and independents will get 13, as per the pollsters.
Exit polls by Matrize, Chanakya Strategies, Times Now-JVC, Poll Diary, and Peoples Pulse, predicted 122-195 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party alliance.
Matrize has given the Mahayuti between 150 and 170 seats, Peoples Pulse between 175 and 195 seats, Chanakya Strategies between 152 and 160, and Times Now-JVC 150-167. Poll Diary gave the Mahayuti alliance between 122 and 186 seats, which translates into an average of 152.
Maharashtra voting to elect new Assembly today. Photo Courtesy: PIB
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising the Congress and the Sena and NCP factions of Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar will get only 69 to 138, according to these five exit polls.
In Jharkhand, the NDA could fall short of gaining the magic figure of 41, ending up with just 39 seats, an aggregate of eight exit polls predicted.
The INDIA alliance will be close behind with 38 seats.
Of the eight opinion polls for Jharkhand, three have predicted a win for the NDA camp. Chanakya Strategies predicted 45-50 seats for NDA and People's Pulse gave it 44-53 seats.
Times Now-JVC also predicts an NDA win in Jharkhand with 40-44 seats and 30-40 for the INDIA bloc.
But Axis My India and Electoral Edge think the INDIA Bloc has an equal chance of winning.
Dainik Bhaskar and P Marq have predicted a hung house.
Exit polls, however, come with a caution that they can be completely working as was the case in the Haryana election.
The counting of the votes will take place on November 23.
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