BJP retains Mah tally despite marginal rise in 2014 vote share
Mumbai: Though the BJP has recorded a massive victory in 2019 general elections, its vote share in Maharashtra has not seen any significant change compared to 2014.
However, the party has managed to retain its 2014 tally of 23 seats this time as well, as per data.
On the other hand, the Shiv Sena which forged the alliance with the BJP after much posturing, recorded a jump of 2.47% in its vote share compared to 2014.
While the BJP's vote share increased only marginally to 27.59 per cent from previous 27.56 per cent, that of the Sena has gone up to 23.29% from 20.82% of 2014.
The BJP and the Sena have retained their 2014 tallies of seats this time, with each party winning 23 and 18 seats, respectively.
As per data, the BJP polled 1,49,12,139 votes as against 1,33,08,961 votes it had secured five years ago.
The Sena bagged 1,25,89,064 votes compared to 1,00,50,652 votes it had been polled in 2014.
On the contrary, the vote shares of the Congress and the NCP, have recorded a dip.
The vote shares of the Congress and the NCP stood at 16.27 per cent and 15.52 per cent, respectively, compared to their 2014 figures of 18.29 per cent and 16.12 per cent each.
The Congress polled 87,92,237 votes this time as against 88,30,190 votes in 2014 when it had won two seats.
The Congress' tally from Maharashtra, once its stronghold, was reduced to just one this elections in the massive Narendra Modi wave.
The NCP too retained its 2014 tally of four seats this time securing 83,87,363 votes. The Sharad Pawar-led party was polled 77,82,275 votes in 2014 polls.
At 41 seats, the NDA has won the major chunk of total 48 constituencies.
Of the remaining seven seats, the NCP won four and the Congress one seat. AIMIM and NCP-backed Independent candidate bagged one seat each.
The Hyderabad-based AIMIM secured 0.72 per cent votes and others, including Independents, and AIMIM and Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA) was polled 14.55 per cent votes.
Maharashtra, which had gone to polls in four phases, had recorded average 60.98 voter turnout.
It seems the VBA queered the pitch for the Congress and the NCP in some constituencies, for example Nanded and Solapur, by cutting Dalit and Muslim votes.
In Aurangabad in Marathwada region, a Shiv Sena stronghold, sitting MP Chandrakant Khaire lost by a slender margin to VBA nominee Imtiaz Jaleel.
Jaleel has become the first non-Congress Muslim member of the Lower House from Maharashtra.
