The NDA on Saturday won the Maharashtra Assembly election with more than 280 seats, while the Opposition bloc INDIA retained in Jharkhand with more than 50 seats.

In Jharkhand, the JMM-Congress coalition won 56 of the 81 Assembly seats, while the BJP-led alliance had 24 seats.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, won 236 of the 288 Assembly seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi secured 48 seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the development and good governance after NDA’s victory in Maharashtra. He also thanked the people of Jharkhand for their support and congratulated JMM-Congress for their victory.

Addressing BJP workers at party headquarters in Delhi, PM Modi said: “It is the victory of development, good governance and social justice in Maharashtra, and it is the defeat of negative politics and dynastic politics.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed gratitude to the people of Maharashtra for the “historic victory” of the Mahayuti alliance in the state polls and said that by giving such a huge mandate to the NDA, people have shut shops of “fake well-wishers of the Constitution”.

As the JMM-led alliance gained victory in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended his heartfelt gratitude to the people of Jharkhand and congratulated Chief Minister Hemant Soren for the victory.

In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said: “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Jharkhand for giving a huge mandate to India. Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji, all the workers of Congress and JMM for this victory. This victory of the alliance in the state is a victory of the protection of water, forest and land along with the Constitution. The results of Maharashtra are unexpected and we will analyse them in detail. Thanks to all the voter brothers and sisters of the state for their support and to all the workers for their hard work.”

In her debut, Priyanka Gandhi won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seats in the byelection with a bigger margin than her brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. She fills the vacancy left by Rahul when he choose Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Taking to X, she said: “I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament!”

In a press conference in Ranchi, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said: “In some places, vote counting has concluded and in some places, the counting is still going on. We can see that the INDIA alliance is performing really well. I thank the voters of the state, including women, men, youth, farmers and people of various castes and religion for casting their votes.”

After a sweeping victory in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have held a press conference in Mumbai.

“The people of Maharashtra have prioritised development and delivered a decisive mandate to the Mahayuti alliance. We express our gratitude to the citizens of Maharashtra,” stated Ajit Pawar.

Devendra Fadnavis stated that the alliance acknowledges the support of the people of Maharashtra. “This victory heightens our responsibilities. We are committed to fulfilling the expectations placed upon us.”

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who significantly contributed to his party Shiv Sena’s strong showing in the Assembly elections, secured victory in his Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane by a notable margin of 120,000 votes.

Assam Chief Minister and BJP co-in-charge for the elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma, extended his congratulations to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his team for achieving an “impressive victory” in the 2024 Assembly elections.

Addressing the media from Matoshree, Uddhav Thackeray raised questions about the rationale behind the public’s support for Mahayuti, stating, “Why have the people voted for Mahayuti? Soybean farmers are in distress, industries are migrating to Gujarat, women’s safety is still an issue, inflation is burdening households, and crop loan waivers remain absent. This isn’t just a wave…it’s a ‘tsunami’.”

On Mahayuti’s victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya voiced his support for Fadnavis as the chief ministerial candidate for the neighboring state.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that there is no conflict over the chief minister’s position, emphasising that leaders within Mahayuti will collectively decide on the matter, considering the coalition’s anticipated landslide victory.

Explaining the reason behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi defeat in the Assembly polls, CPI (Marxist) leader Ashok Dhawale noted that the overconfidence of the MVA following the Lok Sabha results, delayed finalising seat-sharing arrangements, and internal conflicts have led to the defeat of the alliance. In contrast, the BJP and its allies effectively utilised communal polarisation and financial resources, he said.

Extolling the people of Jharkhand for rejecting the politics of polarisation and giving a mandate to the Opposition bloc INDIA, the Congress on Saturday said the state has shown a new way and sent a positive message to the entire nation. It added that the result of the Maharashtra Assembly election was surprising and inexplicable for the grand old party.

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said what not were said during political campaigns by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

He said the whole election was fought on one word- infiltrators, adding that BJP tried to create fear, but people responded in a decisive manner. “It is also a positive message for the entire country that the politics of polarisation can be defeated,” he added.

In Maharashtra, without a doubt, in a targeted manner, the level playing field, the word that the Election Commission of India uses, was disturbed, Ramesh alleged. The results have come, and it is unexpected in Maharashtra, he added.

Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in-charge communications, said the party will keep raising questions on electoral transparency. He reiterated the party’s stands on caste census, saying, “We won and lost today but Congress’ agenda will not change and will keep raising issues of caste census.”

BJP-led Mahayuti is all set to form a government in Maharashtra, while JMM-led will retain for the second term.  

Jharkhand Chief Minister, addressing a press conference in Ranchi after crossing the majority mark in the state, said: “In some places, vote counting has concluded and in some places, the counting is still going on. We can see that INDIA alliance is performing really well. I thank the voters of the state, including women, men, youth, farmers and people of various castes and religion for casting their votes.”

Jharkhand Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir, sitting beside CM Soren, said: “I want to thank you all. You are a witness to the Jharkhand elections. We told in the beginning that the people of Jharkhand are courageous, and matured in terms of politics. During our campaigning, we had put our work in front of the people. The judge was the people of Jharkhand.”  

Mir asserted that Hemant Soren is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, will continue to remain so.

As the BJP led Mahayuti coalition is set to win in Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed development and good governance. He also thanked the people of Jharkhand for their support, and congratulated JMM – Congress for their victory.

Taking to social media platform X, the Prime Minister expressed heartfelt gratitude to the people of Maharashtra, especially the youth and the women for their historic mandate. He added that development and good governance wins, mentioning that united they will soar even higher.

In another tweet, PM Modi stated that NDA’s pro-people efforts will resonate all over. He thanked people across various states for blessing NDA candidates in several by-polls, adding that they will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. He expressed that he is very proud of every NDA worker for their efforts on the ground. He underlined that the NDA workers worked hard, went among people and elaborated on good governance agenda. 

In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti is on the way for a thumping victory. The alliance is leading in 233 of the state’s 288 Assembly seats. Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is leading in only 50 seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also thanked the people of Jharkhand for their support towards NDA. He assured that his party will always be at the forefront of raising people’s issues and working for the state. He also congratulated the JMM-led alliance for their performance in the state. 

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is set to lose to the JMM-led INDIA bloc. The state’s ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a Congress ally at the state and central level, is leading in 57 of 81 seats and the NDA in 23.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also thanked the people of Maharashtra for their historic mandate.