Mumbai, 23 Nov

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance was leading in 146 of the 288 seats in the state and the Maha Vikas Aghadi in 132 as counting of votes commenced Saturday morning in the November 20 elections, TV channels reported.

Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections began Saturday morning, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.

The counting of votes in all the 288 seats commenced at 8 am in all the counting centres in the state, an election official said.

At the counting centres, officials first began verifying and counting the postal ballots, after which the counting of EVM votes began. There will be a minimum of 20 rounds of counting in each assembly segment.

The final turnout in the polls, held on November 20, was 66.05 per cent, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019.

In the ruling Mahayuti alliance, the BJP contested 149 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.

In the MVA combine, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) put up 86 candidates.