Mumbai: Contrary to what some doomsayers had predicted, the exit polls have given a unanimous verdict that the BJP and the Shiv Sena will emerge as the biggest combine in Maharashtra, in almost a replay of the 2014 Lok Sabha election results.
However, pollsters have indicated between mild to strong resurgence of the Congress and NCP. The News18-IPSOS Exit Poll has forecast 42-45 seats for the BJP and Shiv Sena while the Congress and NCP combine will win four to six seats. The India Today-Axis poll shows the BJP and the Shiv Sena securing 38-42 seats and UPA bagging between six and 10. The ABP Neilsen has predicted that the saffron combine will get 34 seats and the Congress-NCP 14 seats.
A poll of polls published by the NDTV showed BJP-Sena combine securing 36 seats and the Congress-NCP having to contend with just 11 seats. In 2014, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had won 41 out of 48 seats, whereas the Congress-NCP alliance could win only six.
The state witnessed a direct fight between the ruling and opposition alliances in most constituencies, although Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, floated by BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, might have played spoilsport for the both parties, as it may have weaned away Dalit and Muslim votes from the NDA and the UPA, respectively. Incidentally, the NDA had focussed on ‘Brand Modi’, the Balakot air strike and Hindutva during the campaign, whereas the Congress and the NCP had turned the spotlight on local issues and highlighted farm distress and unemployment.
