A party needs at least 10% of total seats, i.e., a minimum of 29 seats to stake the claim.
Among the big winners, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde achieved the highest margin, winning by 1,59,060 votes in Kopri-Pachpakhadi. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar secured a victory in Baramati with a margin of 1,00,899 votes, defeating his nephew Yugendra Pawar.
The BJP led the charge with eight candidates in this exclusive club, followed by Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with four candidates, and Shinde’s Shiv Sena with three.
This was the first state election after the split in the Shiv Sena and NCP. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has credited the win to the unity among voters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his message after results started coming in, Fadnavis said, “‘Ek hai toh safe hai‘ and ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai‘.”
Scenes of celebrations, bursting of firecrackers and distribution of sweets were seen outside the offices of Mahayuti partners.
In a major upset for the MVA, eight-time MLA Balasaheb Thorat lost the Sangamner seat. Congress, which contested on 101 seats, is starring at its worst-ever performance. The figures are even lower than the 44 seats that it won in the 2019 Maharashtra elections, while contesting on147 seats.
The Congress could not maintain the momentum of its Lok Sabha performance when it won 13 seats out of 48 and the MVA alliance emerged victorious in 30 constituencies.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde thanked voters for the win. “I thank all my ladki bahins (dear sisters) in the state and the brothers who voted in large numbers for us. The voting trend is an endorsement of our work. Every section of society voted for us because of our development efforts. The public has noticed our work and responded through their ballots,” he said.
First Published: Nov 23, 2024 2:32 PM IST
