Mumbai Oct 22 (Inditop.com) The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sweep continued throughout Maharashtra Thursday with results and trends indicating a clear victory for the combine and a drubbing for the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance.
Stunned by the defeat writ large, leaders of the Shiv Sena-BJP went into a huddle as the Election Commission announced the results till 3 p.m. Of the 288 seats, results were declared in 141 seats by that time and counting was in progress in the remaining 147 seats, the outcome of which is expected by late evening.
As per the latest tally, the Congress was leading in 49 seats and had won 34 seats while the NCP was leading in 30 and had won 33 seats — totalling 146, just above the power-giving majority figure of 145 in the 288-member assembly.
In the opposition alliance, the Shiv Sena was leading in 20 seats and had bagged 23, while the BJP was leading in 25 and had won 21, adding to 89 seats.
Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had bagged 12 seats and was leading in two.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) was leading in one seat and had won three.
The Third Front had won 14 seats – among these just one for the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI(M) – and was leading in 10.
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