Sat Nov 23 12:57:44 UTC 2024: ## BJP-led Coalition Sweeps Maharashtra Assembly Elections; Congress Vote Share Plummets

**Mumbai, [Date]** – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition secured a resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, capturing a projected 127 seats with a 25.32% vote share. The results represent a significant shift in the state’s political landscape, marked by a dramatic decline in the Congress party’s performance and a surprising surge for Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Congress, which won 13 Lok Sabha seats in April with 16.92% of the vote, saw its vote share plummet to 10.88% in the Assembly elections, winning only 19 seats. This represents a loss of over 6 percentage points. The BJP also experienced a slight dip in its vote share compared to the Lok Sabha elections.

In contrast, Ajit Pawar’s NCP witnessed a dramatic increase, jumping from 3.60% in the Lok Sabha polls to 10.56% in the Assembly elections. Sharad Pawar’s NCP also saw a slight increase, from 10.27% to 11.67%, securing 13 seats. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena achieved a significant victory, increasing its seat count from 7 in the Lok Sabha elections to a projected 54 in the Assembly, maintaining a consistent vote share of around 12%. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena saw a decrease in both vote share and seat count.

Analysts suggest the shift in votes from Congress and other Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners to the BJP-led Mahayuti, particularly towards Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena, was crucial to the coalition’s success. Smaller parties also experienced declines in their vote share.

The results indicate a significant realignment of the state’s political forces, with the BJP consolidating its position and the Congress facing a major setback. The impact of this realignment and the reasons for the Congress’s decline will be subject to further analysis.

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