Ajaz Khan, the Bigg Boss fame actor-turned-politician, suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where he polled just 155 from the Versova constituency. Remarkably, even the NOTA (None of the Above) option has outperformed him, securing 1,298 votes.

Fielded by Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), Ajaz Khan failed to translate his social media popularity – a staggering 5.6 million Instagram followers – into votes.

His political debut at the state level appears to have fallen flat, much like his earlier foray into the Lok Sabha elections. Khan had contested from the Mumbai North Central seat during the general elections but failed to make an impact there as well.

The Versova constituency, meanwhile, witnessed a fierce contest between Haroon Khan of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Bharati Lavekar of the BJP. Haroon Khan, however, won the seat with a margin of over 1,600 votes.

While Ajaz Khan has struggled to breach even the 150-vote mark, the Mahayuti alliance is surging towards a dominant victory across the state, projected to win over 221 seats. In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, appears headed for a humiliating defeat.

The early trends as of 10:30 AM indicate a landslide victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti government in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has responded to the early trends showing Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) massive defeat in Maharashtra.

Speaking to the media amid ongoing counting, Raut said, ‘This cannot be the decision of the people of Maharashtra. We know what the people of Maharashtra want.’

‘From what we are seeing, it seems that something is wrong. This was not the decision of the public. Everyone will understand what is wrong here. What did they (Mahayuti) do that they are getting more than 120 seats? How is it that MVA is not even getting 75 seats in Maharashtra?’ Raut said.

Rejecting the trends, Raut said that his party has faith in the people of Maharashtra. “They have done some ‘gadbad,’ they have stolen some of our seats…This cannot be the public’s decision. Even the public does not agree with these results. Once the results are out, we will talk more. In every election seat, money-counting machines were installed. Is it possible that Shinde gets 60 seats, Ajit Pawar gets 40 seats, and BJP gets 125 seats? The people of this state are not dishonest. We have faith in the people of Maharashtra,” he said.

Mumbai: As the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Elections Results 2024 are set to be revealed on Saturday, November 23, all eyes are on key constituencies like Byculla, a key seat in Mumbai. The constituency is part of the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency and has been a focal point of intense political competition.

Byculla is one of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and is designated as constituency number 184. The seat falls under the general category and is located in Mumbai City District. Currently, Byculla is represented by Yamini Jadhav of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction).

In the 2024 elections, Yamini Jadhav will face a tough fight from the Shiv Sena UBT candidate Manoj Jamsutkar, making it a key battle to watch. Jadhav secured her victory in 2019 by defeating AIMIM’s Waris Pathan with a sizeable margin of over 20,023 votes, but this time, the political dynamics have shifted.

Byculla has a total of 2,58,856 registered voters, as per the Election Commission’s latest figures. With a diverse demographic composition, the seat often witnesses polarized voting patterns.

Current Political Scenario in Maharashtra

The ruling coalition, Mahayuti, led by Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena-Shinde), Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), and Ajit Pawar (NCP-Ajit Pawar), currently holds 202 seats in the assembly. Of these, BJP accounts for 102 seats, NCP (Ajit) has 40, Shiv Sena (Shinde) has 38, and smaller parties hold the remaining 22 seats.

On the other hand, the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), led by Sharad Pawar (NCP-Sharad Pawar), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT) and Nana Patole (Congress) holds 69 seats. Congress leads the MVA with 37 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) with 16 and NCP (Sharad Pawar) with 12.

Byculla is considered crucial for both alliances. For the ruling Mahayuti, retaining the seat will showcase its strength in Mumbai, while a win for MVA could indicate a shift in urban voting preferences.