BJP-SENA likely to repeat 2014 show against coalition of Congress, NCP

NEWDELHI:MOST exit polls on Sunday showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was expected to repeat its 2014 performance in Maharashtra, which has the most Lok Sabha seats (48) after Uttar Pradesh (80)

India Today-axis poll gave the BJP-SHIV Sena alliance 38 to 42 seats. The Congress-nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance was predicted to win 6 to 10 seats.

Times NOW-VMR predicted 38 seats for the BJP-SHIV Sena combine and 10 for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

News24-today’s Chanakya projections for Maharashtra are 38 for the NDA and 10 for the UPA. The Republic TV-C Voter exit poll has given the NDA 34 seats. The UPA is predicted to win 14 seats.

The BJP-SHIV Sena alliance is expected to win 34 seats while the Congress-ncp combine may get 14 seats, as per ABP News-nielsen exit poll. NEWS18-IPSOS predicted 42-45 seats for the NDA and 4-6 seats for the UPA. The Neta-newsx exit poll gave 36 to the NDA and 11 seats to the UPA.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and the Shiv Sena bagged 23 and 18 seats. The Congress and the NCP managed to get only two and four seats.

BJP’S good performance in Maharashtra will consolidate chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s position and also, keep the Shiv Sena in check.

The two alliance partners had been at each other’s throats since 2014 even as they decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together. NCP chief Sharad Pawar led his party’s campaign while the Congress continued to face infighting that reflected in its canvassing.

To be sure, exit polls are often wrong in predicting seat shares, or final tallies, as seen latest during the assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh last year.