Maharashtra Election Results 2024: BJP’s victory in Maharashtra assembly elections was historic. This party, which won only 42 seats in alliance with Bal Thackeray‘s Shiv Sena in 1990, has come close to majority alone in this assembly election. BJP had fielded its candidates on a total of 149 seats, out of which it succeeded in winning 132 seats. At the same time, Balasaheb Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was reduced to just 20 seats.
This victory marks a turning point in Maharashtra’s political landscape!
Table of Contents
InShort:
1- Smart Freebie Strategy:
BJP’s shift to embrace freebies like the Majhi Ladki Behen Yojana turned the tide in its favor, especially among women voters. Promised increases in allowances and free LPG cylinders further strengthened voter support.
2- Caste Equation:
Despite challenges like the Maratha reservation movement, BJP consolidated its OBC vote base. Urban and suburban areas, especially Mumbai, played a critical role due to Shiv Sena’s decline.
3- Slogan Power: Consolidating Hindu Votes with “Batenge to Katenge”
BJP’s message of Hindu unity resonated widely, despite criticism. The RSS’s grassroots campaigns and PM Modi’s slight tweak to “Ek Hai To Safe Hain” amplified the slogan’s impact.
4- Vidarbha Region: The Road to Maharashtra’s Throne
With 62 seats at stake, Vidarbha was pivotal. BJP’s welfare schemes, infrastructure focus, and strong ground presence, led by Kailash Vijayvargiya, helped counter earlier setbacks in the region.
5- Higher Voter Turnout: A Boost for Mahayuti’s Victory
The increased voter turnout from 61.1% in 2019 to 66% in 2024 benefited Mahayuti. Intensive campaigns bridged the earlier vote gap, securing their historic win.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024
- Total Voter Turnout: 65.11%
- Previous Record: 71.7% voter turnout in the 1995 Assembly Elections
- Total Assembly Seats: 288
- Highest Voter Turnout in 30 Years:
- In Maharashtra, 65.11% voting has been recorded, the highest in the last 30 years.
Strike Rate of Political Parties
| Party | Strike Rate (Estimated) |
|---|---|
| BJP | 84% |
| Shiv Sena | 71% |
| NCP | 62% |
| Congress | 19% |
| Uddhav Thackeray Group | 21% |
| Sharad Pawar Group | 12% |
BJP’s Performance in the Last Three Elections
1. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019
- BJP Seats: 105
- Total Seats: 288
- Alliance: Initially formed with Shiv Sena, later split. Congress-NCP joined under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
2. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2014
- BJP Seats: 122
- Total Seats: 288
- Alliance: BJP allied with Shiv Sena.
3. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2009
- BJP Seats: 46
- Total Seats: 288
- Alliance: BJP allied with Shiv Sena.
In such a situation, in this report, let us know in detail about those 5 factors which played an important role in giving a bumper victory to Mahayuti in Maharashtra elections.
1- Smart Freebie Strategy: A Game-Changer for Women Voters
BJP, which once criticized the Revdi culture, this time announced ‘freebies’ in its election strategy. This change in the party’s strategy was made after the poor performance of the Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections and the results clearly show that the party has also benefited from it. State Finance Minister Ajit Pawar had announced several free schemes while presenting the budget after the Lok Sabha elections. The most popular among these was the Chief Minister Majhi Ladki Behen Yojana, under which allowances were promised to women. This move proved to be a game changer for the Mahayuti. This scheme became a favorite especially among women and BJP became the first choice among women voters.
Apart from this, the Mahayuti alliance also promised to implement the Ladka Bhai Yojana and free LPG cylinders for economically weaker families. The Mahayuti had earlier started giving an allowance of Rs 1,500 under the Ladki Behan Yojana, and now it has promised to increase it to Rs 2,100 if they come back to power.
2. Caste Equation: Uniting Traditional BJP Supporters
The caste question in Maharashtra has always been very complex, and it was a big challenge for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance to strike a balance between different communities. During the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahayuti suffered losses due to the Maratha reservation movement. But the OBC voters of the state, who have been traditional voters of the BJP, united this time and voted in favor of the Mahayuti.
Apart from this, Maharashtra has Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban districts. There are a total of 36 assembly seats in these two districts. These areas are completely urban and are also the financial capital of India. Shiv Sena, which does the politics of ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Marathi identity’, was formed and grew here.
3- Slogan Power: Consolidating Hindu Votes with “Batenge to Katenge”
In this election, BJP made strong use of the slogan “Batenge to Katenge”, which was coined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath . Its aim was to consolidate Hindu votes. This strategy was particularly effective in urban and semi-urban areas.
The main message of this slogan was that if there is division in Hindu society, it will be harmful, and this message was helping BJP to show that Hindu society needs to be united. However, there was a fear of unity of minority community in favor of INDIA alliance regarding this slogan, due to which many opponents were criticizing it. Even some allies of BJP like NCP and BJP leaders Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde opposed it. Nevertheless, BJP made this slogan an important part of its election strategy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a slight change in this slogan and said “Ek Hai To Safe Hain”, but its basic message remained the same – Hindu society needs to unite. RSS also supported this slogan and put in all its efforts to reach it to the public and its benefits can also be clearly seen in the results of the assembly elections.
4. Vidarbha region: The Road to Maharashtra’s Throne
Just like the road to power in Delhi goes through Uttar Pradesh, to reach the throne of Maharashtra, it is necessary to win in the Vidarbha region of the state as this region represents 62 seats out of the total 288 assembly seats. After a poor performance in Vidarbha in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP got only 3 out of 10 seats, the party has left no stone unturned to improve its prospects in the region.
The BJP appointed Kailash Vijayvargiya, who has led successful election campaigns in Bengal and Haryana, to oversee its efforts in Vidarbha. Vijayvargiya arrived in Nagpur with a 100-member team and has been working there for the past two months. A senior BJP leader told TOI, “The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has consolidated Dalit, Muslim and OBC voters against the BJP, especially in rural Vidarbha. To counter this, the BJP focused on the message of Hindutva, welfare schemes and infrastructure achievements, while RSS workers ensured a strong ground presence along with party workers.”
The fall in soybean prices and the export ban on onions had hurt the Mahayuti alliance in Vidarbha as well as Marathwada and Nashik regions in the Lok Sabha elections. This time, the central government has stepped in and lifted the export ban on onions and started the procurement of soybeans at the minimum support price (MSP).
5. Higher Voter Turnout: A Boost for Mahayuti’s Victory
In the 2019 assembly elections, 61.1% voting took place, but this time the voting percentage was 66%. Experts believe that behind this increase is the hard work and campaign of the BJP and Mahayuti alliance, which made special efforts to increase voting.
Senior journalist Sandeep Sonwalkar says that the Mahayuti benefited from the high voter turnout in the state. He says, ‘BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit) made collective efforts to increase the voting percentage, which benefited them. During the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahayuti was defeated by a margin of only 1.5% votes. The Mahayuti bridged this gap and got more votes.’
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