The regional trends in the exit polls released on Monday predicted a unanimous sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena alliance in Mumbai and Konkan belts in the Assembly elections.
The BJP-Sena seat margins are expected to be highest in Vidarbha, considered to be party’s headquarters and a base for several senior leaders. The India Today-Axis poll projected 38 seats for the grand alliance in Vidarbha, while Times Now’s tally at 55 seats was even higher. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are expected to secure between six and 16 seats in the region, according to multiple polls released after voting ended on Monday.
The Axis poll, which has predicted a conservative 180-plus seats for the saffron alliance in Maharashtra, expects the BJP-Sena to also do well in north Maharastra and Mumbai on the back of issues of scrapping of Article 370 and national security. Axis said it had done a wide representative sampling of 60,000 voters and was confident of its numbers. It said the numbers were conservative on account of the rebel factor in several places, especially Yavatmal, where the alliance is facing massive rebellion.
Voters at ZP English school, Taloja, in Raigad district
The Axis poll claimed that the BJP-Sena will secure 29 seats in Marathwada, 29 in Konkan, and only 22 in western Maharashtra. The two combined are likely to get 32 seats in northern Maharastra, 29 in Konkan and 30 in Mumbai.
As opposed to this, the Congress and the NCP are projected to secure only three seats in Mumbai and six in Konkan. The two partners are expected to perform much better in western Maharashtra, where NCP chief Sharad Pawar campaigned in full force. Here, the poll has predicted 29 seats for the two allies.
The Times Now poll has pegged the Vidarbha numbers for the saffron parties at 55 seats, apart from 51 seats in western Maharashtra, and 33 and 29 seats each in Mumbai and Konkan respectively. The Congress and NCP are predicted to make heavy advances in western Maharashtra with 18 seats.
