News18 Mega Opinion Poll: Massive Maharashtra Mandate Likely for NDA with 41 Lok Sabha Seats, INDIA May Get Just 7

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win a sweeping 41 out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while the opposition INDIA bloc may bag seven seats, News18’s Mega Opinion Poll has predicted.

According to the survey, the NDA will win with a vote share of 48 per cent while the INDIA bloc may secure a 34 per cent vote share.

With 48 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra is the second largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh (80 seats).

The survey from February 12 to March 1 covered 21 major states of India that account for 95% of all Lok Sabha constituencies, making it one of the largest surveys in the country. It provides valuable insights into the political landscape of India, offering a detailed analysis of voter sentiment and preferences ahead of the upcoming general elections.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and the BJP will contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Maharashtra.

The BJP had won 23 of the 25 seats it had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while its then alliance partner — undivided Shiv Sena — won 18 of the 23 seats it had contested. The undivided NCP, as part of the opposition alliance, had contested 19 seats and managed to win four.

The Shiv Sena, which had joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form a coalition government after the assembly elections in Maharashtra in 2019, split in 2022 when Eknath Shinde walked away with a majority of the party’s MPs and MLAs and joined hands with the BJP.

The BJP, which was the single largest party after the last state elections, formed a coalition government with Shinde as the chief minister.

Similarly, Ajit Pawar walked away with a majority of the MLAs and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government last year. The Shinde and Ajit Pawar factions have been recognised as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and ‘real’ NCP’, respectively, by the Election Commission and the Maharashtra assembly Speaker.

The BJP is keen to contest more than 30 seats in the upcoming elections as it eyes the 370-mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.