India Polls: BJP-led Mahayuti sweeps Maharashtra, INDIA retains Jharkhand; Priyanka Gandhi leads in Wayanad debut

In a stellar show, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti coalition is set for a massive win in the politically crucial western state of Maharashtra, which went to assembly elections on November 20.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress led INDIA alliance meanwhile is ahead in the eastern state of Jharkhand. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is predictably leading by over 3 lakh votes in the bypoll to Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

As per the trends, the Mahayuti [BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar)] is leading in over 225 out of the total 288 seats as opposed to around 54 leads of the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The Mahayuti will have a political comeback in Maharashtra where the ruling coalition suffered a jolt in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This is also the best ever show of the BJP in Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra among the principal NDA partners, BJP contested in 148 seats, followed by Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena in 80, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at 52. Mahayuti candidates contested in six more seats.

In the rival Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on the other hand the Congress contested 102 seats followed by 96 by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray). The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) fought 86 seats.

In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress alliance (which also includes the RJD), which is aiming to return to power for the second consecutive term, is locked in a contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition.

Jharkhand has also seen several political turmoil with Chief Minister Hemant Soren going to jail over corruption charges. However, according to political analysts, the BJP’s “anti-infiltrator” plank in the state fell flat.

Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, wife Kalpana Soren, and sister-in-law Sita Soren from the JMM. Key BJP leaders include former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri.

Wayanad

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading by over three lakh votes in the bypoll to Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency making her electoral debut by contesting from the seat which was won by her brother and Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi for two consecutive terms in 2019 and 2024.

The Congress general secretary became the candidate after Rahul resigned keeping Gandhi bastion Rae Bareli, the other seat he won in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) is set to sweep the six assembly byelections 6-0, warding off the criticisms it had faced over the RG Kar rape-murder case. The byelections were held in Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai and Madarihat on November 13. All seats except Madarihat (which was last won by the BJP) were in the TMC’s kitty.