Maharashtra, the second-largest state in terms of Lok Sabha seats, is poised for a political shakeup in the general assembly elections, according to the India Today Mood of the Nation poll conducted by C Voter. The survey predicted the opposition Maha Vikas Agadhi will take the lead and the Bharatiya Janata Party underperform in the state.
According to the survey, the ruling Mahayuti coalition, consisting of the BJP and Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is projected to bag only 22 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. This is a substantial decline from the 2019 elections when the alliance secured a sweeping victory with 41 seats. In contrast,the opposition MVA is projected to win 26 seats.
The Mood of the Nation survey's findings suggest that the political upheaval and the splitting of Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) into two different factions may not be working in favor of the NDA. The factions that split from the core Shiv Sena and the NCP went on to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Eknath Shinde assuming the position of chief minister and Ajit Pawar sharing the office of the deputy chief minister with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.
According to the Mood of the Nation survey, the Congress is clinch 12 seats in Maharashtra, with its allies, including Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, expected to collectively win 14 seats.
The INDIA bloc is predicted to claim the 45 per cent vote share in the upcoming general assembly elections, the NDA is projected to secure a 40 per cent vote share. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won 41 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, of which the BJP secured 23 seats individually. The undivided Shiv Sena that was a BJP ally at the time, won 18 seats. Prior to its split, the NCP won secured four seats, whereas the Congress managed to win only one seat.
