BJP stood top on a thin ice; the final crowning awaits Nitish Kumar’s inclination

A close-call for BJP, as it faced a significant setback in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, with its seat tally dropping by almost half compared to the 2019 elections.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, led with 29 out of 48 seats. The BJP-led NDA in Maharashtra fell well short of its target of securing over 45 seats, as indicated by the latest vote counts and trends. Despite exit polls predicting a clear victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti with 22 to 35 seats and the MVA with 15 to 26 seats, the actual results showed a reversal. As of June 4, the INDI Alliance led in 29 seats: Congress with 13, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena with nine, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP with seven.

The NDA secured a total of 18 seats: BJP with 10, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena with seven, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP with one. The run-up to the Lok Sabha polls saw intense contests between the split factions of Shiv Sena and NCP — Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (SHS UBT) versus Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde (SHS) and NCP Sharad Pawar versus NCP Ajit Pawar. The BJP contested 28 constituencies, with allies Shiv Sena (Shinde) in 14 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP in five. Meanwhile, the MVA had Shiv Sena (UBT) in 21 constituencies, Congress in 17, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) in 10. The Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra was conducted in five phases, with ongoing vote counting revealing a strong lead for the MVA despite earlier exit poll predictions.

Contrary to exit polls predicting close to 400 seats for the BJP-led NDA, the alliance struggled to surpass the 300-seat mark. Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc performed robustly, with a likely outcome of over 230 seats. With the majority mark set at 272, the formation of the new government is now still being determined.

In his victory speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the NDA government is assured, but with the BJP lacking a majority, the INDIA alliance senses an opportunity to seize power. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray mentioned ongoing talks with TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar regarding government formation. However, Naidu has reaffirmed his allegiance to the NDA, and Nitish Kumar is expected to attend the NDA government meeting today. Simultaneously, INDIA bloc leaders will meet to discuss their Prime Ministerial candidate.

[Image Source: BusinessToday]