Maharashtra election exit poll: Mahayuti expected to return to power in a tight contest with MVA

Exit polls have predicted Mahayuti returning to power in Maharashtra. The voting for the 288-member Assembly ended on November 20.

S.No.	Pollster	Mahayuti	MVA	Others
1	P-Marq	137-157	126-146	2 – 8
2	Matrize	150-170	110-130	8 – 10
3	Chanakya Strategies	152-160	130-138	0
4	Poll Diary	122-186	69-121	12 – 29
5	Peoples Project	175-195	85-112	7 – 12
6	Bhaskar Reporters Poll	125-140	135-150	20-25
7	Lokshahi Marathi-Rudra	128-142	125-140	18-23
8	SAS Poll	127-135	147-155	10 – 13
9	JVC Exit Poll	150-167	107-125	13-14

Over 9.7 crore voters sealed the fate of 4,136 candidates.
The state witnessed a direct fight between Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.

In the opposition’s MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.

Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member House.

In the 2019 state polls, the BJP won 105 seats and Shiv Sena won 56 seats. The Opposition Congress-NCP contested as an alliance. The Congress won 44 seats and NCP won 54 seats.