Improving on its tally of 18 seats from the 2014 assembly elections, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was leading on 27 of the total 66 constituencies in western Maharashtra — a region that is considered its traditional stronghold — according to trends till 10.50 am.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had won 22 of the total 66 seats in this region in 2014, is looking at significant losses and is ahead in just 16 seats. Congress, meanwhile, has managed to improve its performance with lead on 11 seats compared to 10 assembly seats that it had won in 2014.
BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena is ahead on four assembly seats in the region, while on the remaining seats, 'Others' are leading. Shiv Sena had won 12 seats in this region in 2014.
Western Maharashtra has long been touted to be the NCP’s stronghold. NCP president Sharad Pawar had aggressively campaigned throughout the state after his leaders from western Maharashtra were poached by Devendra Fadnavis.
The region decided the fate of 66 seats in the Maharashtra assembly and is home to sugar barons and cooperative sector champions. The chieftains, who hold the keys to these sugar industries, traditionally owed their allegiance to either the Congress or NCP. Now, with large-scale inductions by the BJP, the scale was expected to have tilted in the saffron party’s favour. However, trends show that may not have been the case.
Some of the key constituencies in this region are Ahmednagar City, Akole, Shirur, Shirdi, and Baramati.
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