The counting of votes in the state of Maharashtra and Jharkhand has begun and all eyes are on the Election Commission (EC) as political parties await their future.
In Maharashtra, trends show that the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition has secured a major victory, leaving the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance trailing way behind.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the INDI Alliance has soared ahead, beating what some exit polls had predicted.
As votes are counted, we take a look at how the heavyweights are faring so far in the polls.
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Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections
MAHARASHTRA
Eknath Shinde
The current chief minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde is currently leading by over 27,000 votes from Maharashtra’s Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency. Shinde is the incumbent candidate from the constituency, defeating Congress’ Ghadigaonkar Sanjay Pandurang in the 2019 Assembly elections by a margin of 88,978.
Devendra Fadnavis
Early trends seem to be favouring the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He is leading from the Nagpur South West seat by over 35,000 and is aiming for a fourth consecutive win from the seat. A seasoned BJP leader and a key figure in the party’s state machinery, Devendra Fadnavis has banked on his development track record and political clout to secure victory.
Fadnavis has represented Nagpur South West since 2009, steadily building a stronghold in the constituency.
Ajit Pawar
Maharashtra’s second Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is leading from the Baramati constituency in Maharashtra. The seasoned politician who split from his uncle, Sharad Pawar, is contesting to defend the seat against his nephew Yugendra Pawar. The young candidate is trailing behind his uncle by 27,000 votes.
At the state level, the Pawar family has won Baramati in every election since 1967. Sharad Pawar held the seat from 1967 to 1991, after which Ajit Pawar took over.
Aaditya Thackeray
The young Thackeray, who is hoping for a second consecutive win, is trailing from the Worli constituency in south Mumbai. His rival, Milind Deora, is ahead by a slim margin of just 597 votes.
Meanwhile, MNS selected Sandeep Sudhakar Deshpande for the Worli constituency.
Nana Patole
Congress leader Nana Patole is leading from the Sakoli Assembly constituency. He’s up against Avinash Anandrao Brahmankar of the BJP. It’s a neck-and-neck battle with the Congress leader up by over 350 votes.
Nana Patole, a four-time legislator and current Maharashtra Congress president, is a central figure in this race. A former BJP leader, Patole parted ways with the party in 2017, citing disagreements over farmer issues.
Meanwhile, his rival, Avinash Anandrao Brahmankar is seeking to reclaim the constituency for his party. He enters the fray as part of the Mahayuti alliance, comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction.
Zeeshan Siddique
Zeeshan Siddique, the son of slain leader Baba Siddique, from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party is trailing against Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Varun Sardesai from the Vandre East Assembly constituency.
During the 2019 Assembly election, Zeeshan Siddique, who was with Congress, won with 5,790 votes. Shiv Sena’s Vishwanath Pandurang Mahadeshwar finished runner-up as he got 32,547 votes.
Amit Thackeray
MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray, who entered the poll fray from Mahim in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, is trailing from Mahim in the early trends.
He is up against Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar and Mahesh Baliram Sawant of Sena-UBT.
Rahul Narwekar
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, who is seeking re-election from the elite Colaba Assembly seat in south Mumbai, is leading. He won the Colaba seat in 2019 with a strong 53.85 per cent vote share.
Shaina NC
Shaina NC is trailing from the Mumbadevi constituency in Mumbai. Congress leader Amin Patel, who won the seat thrice — in 2009, 2014 and 2019, is leading currently in the race. This seat was previously held by the BJP until Congress wrest the constituency in assembly elections 2009.
Prithviraj Chavan
The former Maharashtra chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan is trailing from the Karad constituency. Chavan is up against BJP leader and sugar baron Atul Bhosale, who is considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In 2019, Chavan won the polls by a narrow margin of 6,000 votes against Bhosale.
Nitesh Rane
The BJP firebrand leader is leading from the Kankavli seat. He is facing off against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sandesh Bhaskar Parkar.
In the last Assembly election in 2019, BJP’s Nitesh Narayan Rane won the seat by defeating Shiv Sena’s Satish Jagannath Sawant.
Nawab Malik
NCP candidate Nawab Malik was trailing against SP’s Abu Azmi by more than 9,000 votes in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Seat in Mumbai’s Maharashtra.
Azmi was ahead with 10,842 votes at 10 am while Malik got 1,417 votes till this time, as per the Election Commission data. The third in the fray is Shiv Sena’s Suresh Patil, who has got 1,589 votes so far.
JHARKHAND
Hemant Soren
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is leading from the Barhait seat. He’s up against the BJP’s Galiyel Hembrom in the seat.
Soren has been representing Barhait constituency since 2014. He won from the Dumka seat in 2009 and again in 2019 along with the Barhait (ST) constituency and gave up the former in 2020.
Champai Soren
Champai Soren, famously known as the “Kolhan Tiger” is leading from the Seraikela seat. He has held this seat since Jharkhand’s first Assembly election in 2005.
Champai, who switched to the BJP earlier, is facing his former colleague and JMM candidate Ganesh Mahali.
Babulal Marandi
The head of the BJP unit in the state is leading against JMM’s Nijamuddin Ansari from the Dhanwar seat.
The head of the BJP’s Jharkhand unit, Babulal Marandi was Jharkhand’s first chief minister. He was appointed as the state BJP chief in July last year. Marandi served as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the Jharkhand Assembly from February 2020 to October 2023.
Kalpana Soren
Kalpana Soren, the wife of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is contesting the polls and is trailing from the Gandey constituency. BJP candidate Muniya Devi is her closest rival in the polls.
Kalpana Soren bagged her maiden victory in May 2024, defeating then-BJP candidate Dilip Kumar Verma by over 26,000 votes. Since 1977, the JMM has secured a win in Gandey six times, while the BJP and Congress have emerged victorious twice.
With inputs from agencies