The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance looked set for a runaway victory in Maharashtra, scoring an emphatic win over a tottering MVA, while the opposition INDIA bloc was poised to bag Jharkhand on Saturday, according to trends on the Election Commission website.

As votes were counted for the Assembly polls held earlier this month, India’s ruling and opposition alliances could bag one state each in the crucial electoral battle with voters in both going for continuity rather than change.

While the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP partnership banded under Mahayuti was leading in 218 of the 288 seats in the powerhouse state of Maharashtra indicating a huge wave in favour of the ruling alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partnership of the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) was ahead in just 50.

However, the question over the Maharashtra chief minister’s face remains.

In the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly, the BJP was ahead in 26 seats, way behind the opposition alliance with JMM leading in 30 seats, the Congress in 13, the RJD in five and the CPI-ML in one.

The results come as a fillip for the BJP, which won an unprecedented hat-trick in Haryana last month, and help the party overcome some of its reverses in the general elections where it bagged just 240 seats.

Maharashtra elections result LIVE
Total seats: 288

Magic figure: 145

Political formation Leads
BJP+ 231
Congress+ 51
Others 06