Mumbai: The counting of votes will be held on Tuesday in 48 Lok Sabha seats of Maharashtra where the rival Shiv Sena and NCP factions, as well as the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, are jockeying for political supremacy.
Counting will begin at 8 am across the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The exercise would be held at 289 counting halls and 4,309 counting tables by 14,507 personnel.
Adequate police security was in place at all the counting centres, as per a statement from the state Chief Electoral Officer.
The electoral performance in Maharashtra is crucial for both the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as the western state sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 MPs.
The Mahayuti comprises the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the BJP and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
The MVA constituents include the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Maharashtra logged a voter turnout of 61.33 per cent in five phases from April 19 to May 20.
1,121 candidates in the fray
Among the 1,121 candidates in the fray include prominent figures such as Union ministers Nitin Gadkari (from Nagpur seat), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North), Narayan Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Raosaheb Danve (Jalna), Bharti Pawar (Dindori) and Kapil Patil (Bhiwandi).
They were pitted against rivals from the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).
The most riveting contest was in the Baramati constituency where Sharad Pawar's daughter and sitting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule was pitted against her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, who last year engineered a split in the Nationalist Congress Party founded by his uncle.
State ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar and Sandipan Bhumre contested against their rivals from the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) in Chandrapur and Aurangabad seats, respectively.
NDA aims to win 45 plus constituencies
The BJP-led NDA has set the bar high this time with a target to win 45 plus constituencies in the state.
In 2019, the BJP won 23 seats while its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) bagged 18. The then undivided NCP bagged four constituencies, whereas the Congress could win just one seat.
The elections in 2024 were fought in a changed political landscape after splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, respectively.
The other key battles were between BJP leader Pankaja Munde and Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP (SP) in Beed and between Congress MLA Praniti Shinde, daughter of ex-Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, and Ram Satpute of the BJP in Solapur.
Shahu Chhatrapati, a royal from Kolhapur, and Udayanraje Bhosale, a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, contested from Kolhapur and Satara seats on Congress and BJP tickets, respectively.
In Mumbai, the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray faction are locked in a straight fight in three of six seats- Mumbai South, Mumbai North West, and Mumbai South Central, while in the three other seats, the BJP is squaring off against Congress.
Prominent lawyer and debutant politician Ujjwal Nikam of the BJP contested against Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai North Central seat.
In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Eknath Shinde's son and sitting MP Shrikant Shinde is seeking a third term from Kalyan.
In CM Shinde's stronghold Thane, the Sena factions are locked in a fierce fight.
Among the opposition MVA allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) contested the maximum 21 seats, followed by Congress 17 and NCP (SP) 10.
In the ruling Mahayuti, the BJP fielded 28 candidates, followed by Shinde-led Sena which contested 15 seats, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP 4 and ally RSP 1.
Out of the 15 seats, the Shinde Sena is facing off against the Uddhav faction in 13. The rival NCP camps are locked in a straight contest in Baramati and Shirur constituencies.
The Sena (UBT) and the BJP are contesting four seats each in Marathwada, but they are not directly pitted against each other in any of the eight LS seats.
The BJP is contesting Beed, Jalna, Nanded, and Latur. In Beed, the party faces opposition from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), while in Jalna, Nanded, and Latur, the Congress presents the challenge.
Triangular contest in Aurangabad
A triangular contest unfolded in Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat among Shiv Sena UBT, Shiv Sena, and AIMIM. Union minister Danve is contesting from Jalna for the sixth time, facing a direct challenge from former Congress MLA Kalyan Kale.
A total of 5,70,06,778 voters out of 9,29,43,890 had exercised their franchise in five phases in Maharashtra.
At 71.88 per cent, polling in the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency was the highest, while Mumbai South registered the lowest turnout at 50.06 per cent.
The BJP's campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who doubled down on development and mainly targeted Sharad Pawar in his rallies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders also hit the hustings.
The MVA canvassed on the "threat to the Constitution" narrative with Sharad Pawar addressing several rallies.
Thackeray played the sympathy tune citing "gaddari" (treachery) by MLAs from the Shinde camp.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi addressed rallies with the theme of social justice and assurance to conduct a caste census if voted to power.
