Assembly Election Result: NDA triumphs in Maharashtra; INDIA bloc retains Jharkhand

Assembly Election Result: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance has scripted a landslide victory in Maharashtra while the INDIA bloc retained Jharkhand in the Assembly polls, the results of which were announced on November 23.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also swept assembly bypolls in Bihar and Assam, while the Trinamool Congress dominated bypolls in West Bengal. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra scripted victory in her first election in the Wayanad parliamentary bypoll.

BJP's Best-Ever Show in Maharashtra

The NDA, known as Mahayuti in Maharashtra, has crossed the 236 mark, with the BJP registering its best-ever poll showing in the state with 132 seats in the 288-member house.

Maharashtra voted for 288 seats in a single phase on November 20. The 81 seats in Jharkhand voted in two phases – November 13 and 20.

The contest was bipolar in Maharashtra. The Mahayuti alliance contested to retain power, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) aimed to wrest control from the ruling alliance in the state. Overall, the Mahayuti alliance won 231 seats. The MVA won 48 seats, while nine seats went to others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the ‘historic’ Maharashtra mandate as a victory of ‘development and good governance’. 

“This affection and warmth is unparalleled. I assure the people that our Alliance will keep working for Maharashtra’s progress. Jai Maharashtra!” Modi wrote on X.

In the 2019 assembly election, the BJP-Shiv Sena (undivided) won the majority. The alliance didn't last long, and the Shiv Sena pulled out, unleashing political turmoil in the state. The state saw three different chief ministers in the last five years: BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray, and Shiv Sena’s (SHS) Eknath Shinde.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP lost ground in Maharashtra. It won just nine of the 28 seats it contested, compared to 23 of the 25 seats it contested in the 2019 general elections.

INDIA bloc retains Jharkhand

In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc won 56 seats, retaining power in the 81-member Assembly. The ruling alliance has improved its 2019 score.

The INDIA bloc allies in Jharkhand include the JMM, the Congress, the CPI(ML)L and the RJD. The NDA includes the BJP, the AJSUP, the JD(U) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

The JMM has won 34 seats. The Congress won 16 seats, according to Election Commission data. The RJD won four seats. 

In the NDA, the BJP won 21 seats, and the AJSU and LJP have won one seat each. The Janata Dal-United is ahead in one seat.

In the 2019 Assembly Elections, the JMM emerged as the largest party with 30 seats, while the BJP bagged 25 seats. The Congress won 16 seats. The JMM formed a government with the support of Congress and RJD.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi applauded the Jharkhand Assembly Election Results, calling it a “victory of the protection of jal, jangal, zameen along with the Constitution.”

While Priyanka Gandhi Vadra bagged the Wayanad seat, the BJP’s Santukrao Hambade won Maharashtra's Nanded seat in the parliamentary bypoll.

In the 48 Assembly bypolls, the NDA swept Assam, Bihar and Rajasthan, while Congress won in Karnataka. The Trinamool Congress swept the West Bengal bypolls. The BJP-led NDA won seven out of nine seats that voted in bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.