The voting for the Maharashtra legislative assembly concluded today with the state recording around 60% voter turnout for the 288 assembly seats. The wait for the Exit Poll is over and the Zee News’ AI anchor Zeenia revealed shocking trends as per its analysis of over 10 lakh voters. The Zeenia has predicted a closed contest with the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance having an edge against the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi.
In political discussions, it is frequently remarked that gaining control of Vidarbha is key to reaching Mumbai’s Mantralaya. Vidarbha accounts for over 20% of Maharashtra’s 288 assembly constituencies, with 62 seats in total. The Congress and BJP are directly competing in 36 of these constituencies. The Mahayuti alliance is currently leading in the region and is projected to secure 32-37 seats, while the MVA is anticipated to win 24-29 seats.
Vidarbha, predominantly an agrarian region, has historically been a stronghold of the Congress party. Its central city, Nagpur, holds significant cultural and political importance—it was the site of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism in 1956 and is home to the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological backbone of the BJP.
Western Maharashtra, spanning six districts and comprising 70 assembly seats, continues to be a pivotal political arena in the state. The internal division within the NCP has heightened the stakes. Ajit Pawar’s faction, aligned with the BJP, has fielded 26 candidates in the region, focusing on the government’s Ladki Bahin scheme. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar’s group, contesting 37 out of 87 seats, has based its campaign on issues such as agricultural distress, unemployment, and crimes against women. In Western Maharashtra, the Mahayuti is likely to get 28-33 while the MVA may get 33-42 seats. Western Maharashtra is the stronghold of Sharad Pawar.
In the Mumbai region, the BJP+ and the Congress+ – both are likely to get around 15 seats each, predicting a tight contest. In the Thane-Konkan region, the BJP+ is leading and may bag 23-28 seats while the MVA may get 9-14 seats. In the Marathwada region, the Maha Vikas Aghadi is leading and may win 24-29 seats out of the 46 while the Mahayuti may bag 16-21 seats.
The Marathwada region, consisting of eight districts—Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad), Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Parbhani, and Dharashiv (formerly Osmanabad)—accounts for a total of 46 assembly seats.
As per the Zeenia Exit Polls, the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP (Mahayuti) is likely to get 129-159 seats while the majority mark is 145. The Congress-Sena UBT-NCPSP may get 124-154 seats. Thus, there appears to be a tight contest on cards.
When asked about popular CM choice, the majority of people said that Devendra Fadnavis is the popular choice while Eknath Shinde was the second preference and Uddhav Thackeray third choice.
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