In Maharashtra, BJP vote share doubles from 2009

The vote share of Bharatiya Janata party in Maharashtra assembly elections doubled compared to that in 2009 to help catapult its tally from 46 to 122 seats in a five-cornered contest and it was also marginally higher than it got in the May Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP’s vote share in the just concluded polls was 27.8 per cent that saw it emerge as the single largest party compared to 14.02 per cent in 2009, according to Election Commission data. The BJP on its own was 23 seats short of a majority in an election marked by neck and neck contests.

In the May Lok Sabha elections when it was in alliance with Shiv Sena while the Congress and NCP fought together, the BJP got 27.3 per cent of the votes to bag 23 of the 48 seats at stake.

With 4,119 candidates in the fray, BJP had fielded 280, Congress 287, NCP 278, Shiv Sena 282, BSP 260, MNS 219 CPI 34 and CPM 19 nominees.

In the case of BJP’s erstwhile ally Shiv Sena, a three per cent rise from 16.26 per cent to 19.4 per cent was enough to nearly double its seats to 63 from 33 in 2009. The Sena polled 20.6 per cent to get 18 seats.

A three per cent swing in votes against the Congress cost 40 seats for the party. As against 82 (21.01 per cent) in 2009, the Congress kitty slumped to 42(17.9 per cent). The Congress got just two seats despite polling 18.1 per cent votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

However, the vote share of Congress’s erstwhile ally Nationalist Congress Party rose marginally to 17.3 per cent from 16.37 per cent but that did not translate into more seats apparently because of the multi-cornered contests.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP won 41 as against 62 in the previous elections. It got four Lok Sabha seats polling 16 per cent votes.

The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena secured 3.1 per cent of the votes but could get only one seat.

Image: BJP supporters wave the party's flag while celebrating their party's victory in Mumbai. Photograph: Rediff.com