Assembly Election Results Live: Fadnavis, Thackeray Claim Maharashtra Victory But With A Weaker Majority

The BJP has won fewer seats compared to the 2014 Assembly polls, but its “strike rate” this time is better, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.

Fadnavis also said that the BJP and Shiv Sena will go by what was “pre-decided” between them on sharing of power. He noted the BJP suffered in the state elections due to rebellion by some party leaders, but added that 15 of those are in touch with him.

Fadnavis, however, expressed shock at the defeat of party candidates Udayanraje Bhosale in the Satara Lok Sabha bypoll and minister Pankaja Munde in Parli Assembly seat.

Eight Haryana ministers lost the assembly elections, which saw just two of the 10 ministers fielded by the ruling BJP returning to the state assembly.

Cabinet minister and five-time MLA Anil Vij retained his traditional bastion of Ambala Cantonment, whereas minister of state Banwari Lal emerged victorious from Bawal.

Vij drubbed Congress rebel Chitra Sarwara, who fought as independent, by over 20,000 votes.

The ministers who lost the elections are Ram Bilas Sharma (Mahendragarh), Capt. Abhimanyu (Narnaund), Om Prakash Dhankar (Badli), Kavita Jain (Sonipat), Krishan Lal Panwar (Israna), Manish Kumar Grover (Rohtak), Krishan Kumar Bedi (Shahbad), and Karan Dev Kamboj (Radaur). The saffron party's idea of shifting minister Karan Dev Kamboj from Indri to Raduar also failed to yield positive results.

Khattar retained his Karnal constituency.

Grover and Kamboj lost to their rivals by just over 2,000 votes, whereas other ministers faced defeat by over 10,000 votes.

Lone woman minister in the Khattar cabinet, Kavita Jain, a three-time MLA, lost her traditional Sonipat seat to Surender Panwar of the Congress by a margin of over 32,000 votes.

Among the other prominent faces for the ruling BJP who tasted defeat in the elections was its state president Subhash Barala. He lost the contest from Tohana to Jannayak Janta Party candidate Devender Singh by a huge margin of 52,302 votes.

The opposition Congress too witnessed a major upset in Kaithal, where senior party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala lost to BJP's Leela Ram. The three-time legislator and Congress Party's chief spokesperson was defeated by a margin of 1,246 votes. It was a second blow to Surjewala, who had tasted defeat in the Jind byelections early this year.

Congress candidate and former Haryana Assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma also faced defeat at the hands of BJP nominee Nirmal Rani from Ganaur.

With PTI inputs.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray were among the prominent winners in the assembly polls on Thursday.

Fadnavis, the first BJP chief minister of Maharashtra, retained his Nagpur South West seat for the fifth consecutive term, while Thackeray, the first member of his family to contest polls, emerged victorious in Worli, central Mumbai. Patil, a two-time MLC and a sitting minister, who contested his first assembly polls, won from Kothurd in Pune.

Other prominent winners included Nitesh Rane of the BJP from Kankavli in the Konkan region and NCP leader Ajit Pawar from Baramati in Pune district. Rane had won the seat on a Congress ticket in 2014 and joined the BJP on the eve of Oct. 21 elections.

Former Maharashtra Chief Ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, both Congressmen, won from Bhokar (Nanded district) and Karad South (Satara district), respectively. State Congress president Balasaheb Thorat retained his Sangamner assembly seat in Ahmednagar district for the eight time.

Among the prominent losers were state’s Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde of the BJP from Parli in Beed district and EGS Minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who had quit the NCP to join the Shiv Sena after the Lok Sabha polls.

Another prominent politician, Harshvardhan Patil, who switched to the BJP from the Congress on the eve of the assembly polls, was defeated by Dattatraya Bharne, the sitting NCP legislator in Indapur, Pune district.

With PTI inputs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers in New Delhi while thanking voters of Haryana and Maharashtra.

Modi praised Devendra Fadnavis and Manohar Lal Khattar saying that being first-time chief ministers they kept working towards people's welfare and the people have put their faith in them again.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance inched closer to retain power in the state of Maharashtra after leading 157 out of 288 seats. Meanwhile, Haryana is likely to be a hung assembly with no party attaining clear majority.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray described the assembly election results as an “eye-opener for many”, adding that the people of the state had kept democracy alive.

“We had agreed to contest fewer seats (than the BJP), but I cannot accommodate the BJP every time. I should allow my party to grow,” Uddhav said, indicating that he would drive a hard bargain.

Thackeray said that it was time to implement 50:50 formula that decided on earlier between Sena and BJP.

The Bharatiya Janata Party lost some ground but stayed ahead of the Congress in Haryana. The saffron party was leading in 39 seats as of 4:30 p.m., while the Congress led in 32 seats. The state-level Jannayak Janata Party was leading in 10 seats.

In Maharashtra, too the UPA alliance crossed the 100-mark with Sharad Pawar’s NCP leading charge.

The Bharatiya Janata Party inched ahead of Congress over the last one hour in Haryana. The saffron party was leading in 40 seats as of 3 p.m. while the congress was leading in 32 seats. The state-level Jannayak Janata Party was leading in 10 seats.

The NDA maintained its lead in Maharashtra, touching the 160-seats mark as of 3 p.m. while the congress kept its lead in 99 seats.

With the Haryana assembly heading for a fractured mandate, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday urged non-BJP outfits to join hands.

On being asked if the Congress had made an offer of the chief minister's post to Jannayak Janta Party chief Dushyant Chautala, Hooda said no such talk had taken place.

Hooda, who is leading by a comfortable margin from his stronghold Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district, said the people had given their mandate against the BJP over it's "non-fulfilment of promises and non-performance".

Appealing non-BJP outfits to join hands with the Congress, Hooda assured them that they would be given due respect. "We are prepared to form a strong government," he said.

Taking a jibe at the BJP, Hooda said: "Those who were claiming to win more than 75 seats, people have shown them the reality and they have been limited to around 30 seats." The Congress leader said the ruling BJP had no moral right to stay in power as it looked way off from even getting the majority. "Many of their ministers are facing defeat," he said.

He alleged that the adminstration was putting pressure on the Independents at the behest of the ruling BJP and not allowing them to move freely.

Source: PTI

Rivals Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress stood neck-and-neck in Haryana as of 2 p.m., with both parties leading in 35 seats. There are a total of 90 seats up for grabs in the northern state.

The NDA maintained its lead in Maharashtra, ahead in 156 seats, compared to the UPA which was ahead in 103 seats.

The National Democratic Alliance was ahead in 157 seats in Maharashtra as of 1:15 p.m. today, maintaining a sizable lead ahead of UPA’s 101 seats. BJP’s Mumbai headquarters has already begun celebrating an expected victory.

The situation remained largely unchanged in Haryana with the BJP leading in 40 seats and the Congress leading in 31 seats.

Speaking to reporters today, Shiv Sena Leader Sanjay Raut said that it will continue its alliance with the BJP, in Maharashtra, on the agreed-upon 50-50 formula.

The BJP maintained its lead in over 40 seats in Haryana as of 12 p.m. today. The Congress was leading in 29 seats out of the total 90 seats up for grabs.

The BJP-led NDA expanded its lead over 165 of the total 288 seats available in Maharashtra. The UPA was ahead in 95 seats at the same time.

Seven Haryana ministers, including Ram Bilas Sharma and Capt Abhimanyu, and State BJP chief Subhash Barala were trailing, as per early Election Commission trends.

• Haryana Assembly Speaker Kanwar Pal, a BJP legislator from Jagadhri, was also trailing in his constituency behind Congress' Akram Khan by a margin of 5,889 votes.
• Sharma, a five-time legislator, was trailing by a slim margin of 329 votes against Congress' Rao Dan Singh.
• Abhimanyu, sitting MLA from Narnaund, was trailing by a margin of 9,956 behind JJP's Ram Kumar Gautam.
• State BJP chief Barala was trailing by a margin of 10,383 behind Jannayak Janta Party's Devender Singh Babli from Tohana seat.

Among other ministers who were behind include Kavita Jain trailing behind Surender Panwar of the Congress by a margin of 5,761 votes from Sonipat segment while another minister Manish Grover was behind Congress' B B Batra from Rohtak by a margin of 3,061 votes.

From Radaur, Minister Karan Dev Kamboj was behind Bishan Lal of Congress by a margin of 1,394 votes while another minister Krishan Lal Panwar was behind Congress' Balbir Singh from Israna reserved seat by a margin of 7020 votes.

However, senior Minister and five-time legislator, Anil Vij was leading in his Ambala Cantt seat by a margin of 3,569 votes over Independent candidate Chitra Sarwra.

Source: PTI

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is leading over his nearest Congress rival Ashish Deshmukh by 5,103 votes in Nagpur-South West seat.
• State BJP chief and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil leading over MNS nominee Kishore Shinde by 10,086 votes in Kothrud.
• BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil leading over his Congress rival Suresh Thorat by 26,724 votes in Shirdi.
• NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar leading over Gopichand Padalkar of the BJP by 49,851 votes in Baramati.
• BJP minister Pankaja Munde trailing behind estranged cousin and Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde by 20,981 votes in Parli.
• Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan leading over Shrinivas Gorthekar of the BJP by 16,900 votes in Bhokar.
• Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress leading over BJP's Atul Bhosale by 1,735 votes in Karad-South.
• BJP candidate Harshvardhan Patil, who quit the Congress ahead of the polls, was trailing behind NCP MLA Dattatraya Bharne by 3,670 votes in Indapur.

Source: PTI

Former chief minister of Haryana and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is leading in his constituency - Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, according to ANI.

Hooda is looking to revive his fortunes after a defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But the Congress suffered a jolt after its state unit President Ashok Tanwar quit and declared his support for Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party.

At the same time, wrestler and BJP candidate Yogeshwar Dutt is leading Baroda, Haryana.

The gap between rivals BJP and Congress narrowed further in Haryana over the last one hour with the saffron party leading in 40 seats and the opposition leader ahead in 30 seats.

However, in Maharashtra, The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance extended its lead in 158 seats out of the total 288 seats. The UPA stood ahead in 93 seats as of 11 a.m.

The National Democratic Alliance extended its lead over 165 seats in Maharashtra as of 10 a.m. while the UPA was ahead in 87 seats.

In Haryana, the BJP’s is now leading in 44 seats compared to 48 seats an hour ago, while Congress took lead in 25 seats.

Aditya Thackeray, son of the Shiv Sena Party President Udhav Thackeray, is leading in the Worli constituency, according to ANI.

Babita Kumari Phogat - Indian wrestler who won the gold medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games along with other silver and bronze medals - is leading in her constituency in Haryana, according to ANI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance was leading in 124 seats in Maharashtra as of 9:15 a.m. while the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was ahead in only 48 seats.

In Haryana too, the BJP maintained a lead in 48 seats while the Congress was ahead in 20 seats. State-level Jannayak Janata Party stood ahead in 10 seats.

• Congress candidate Bhusara Sunil Chandrakant leading in Vikramgad Assembly segment in Maharashtra.
• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress are among those who were leading from their respective constituencies, as per the early trends available.

Source: PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken the lead in early counting in both Maharashtra - with 15 seats - and Haryana - with 3 seats. There are a total of 288 seats up for grabs in Maharashtra and 90 seats in Haryana.

Counting of votes for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections has begun.

The exit polls predicted a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party in both the states, signaling the continued strength of the saffron wave.

The incumbent BJP-led government is expected to return to power with an even bigger mandate in Maharashtra.

The ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance are likely to win well over 200 seats out of 288, according to an average of five exit polls. That’s higher than the 185 seats they had in the previous assembly polls.

Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari has said that BJP was able to successfully capture Maharashtra through a unique social engineering strategy where it ignores the dominant Maratha caste group and consolidated every other group against them. Then it makes the dominant group fall in line. “It’s almost an invincible combination it has been able to achieve,” Tiwari said.

The Congress-NCP duo is unlikely to make a dent.“BJP has successfully decimated the Pawar stronghold of Western Maharashtra,” Tiwari noted.

The saffron party is also likely to sweep Haryana without much contest. BJP is expected to win nearly 70 out of 90 seats, with one poll even pegging the number as high as 75. In the previous assembly polls, BJP had won 47 seats.

There’s an outlier though. AxisMyIndia expects a neck-and-neck fight between Congress and BJP. It said that BJP is likely to win between 32 and 44 seats and the Congres between 30 and 42 seats. If that is the case, fledgling Chautala’s JJP may hold the final say in who forms a government.

But Tiwari thinks that the split between INLD and JJP worked in BJP's favour.

“Haryana is not a bipolar contest,” Tiwari said. “There the factionalism within the Congress, and the factionalism between the INLD which split the party in two blocs led to the division of anti-BJP votes between three parties. This has helped BJP’s fortunes.”

Two hundred and eighty eight seats are up for grabs in Maharashtra with over 3,000 candidates in the fray.

Most expect a one-sided victory for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena alliance banking on the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After publicly voicing differences for months, mainly over seat share, the BJP and Shiv Sena kept their National Democratic Alliance intact.

The United Progressive Alliance, between the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, too had its fair share of differences. However, the duo was significantly weakened due to an exodus of leaders.

As many as 20 sitting MLAs of the BJP were dropped from the electoral list this time, including education minister and sitting MLA from Borivali Vinod Tawde, energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, senior leader Eknath Khadse and former housing minister Prakash Mehta.

Eknath Khadse, the five-time MLA from Muktainagar, was also not given a ticket. While he was all set to file his nomination as an independent candidate, the party decided to field his daughter Rohini instead. Later, Khadse said in a tweet that the blessings he has received from his supporters for all these years should now go to his daughter.

Also, Vikramgad MLA Vishnu Savra, Medha Kulkarni of Kothrud and Sangeeta Thombre from Kaij, among others, have not been given a ticket to contest.

In Haryana things are more interesting. More than 1,100 candidates are vying for 90 seats in the north Indian state.

The state is poised for a four-way contest between the BJP, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, and the Jannayak Janta Party.

Manohar Lal Khattar, the first BJP leader to hold the chief minister’s post in Haryana, is seeking a second term. He expressed confidence that his party will secure close to 75 seats in the state assembly.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress is also looking to revive his fortunes after a defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But the Congress suffered a jolt after its state unit President Ashok Tanwar quit and declared his support for Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party.

Abhay Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal is also in the electoral fray. JJP, a breakaway faction of the INLD, has fielded former Border Security Force constable Tej Bahadur Yadav against Khattar from Rohtak.

A key factor in the election will be the presence of swing seats. 19 of the 90 seats have been swing seats, some of them since the first election held in 1967.