Live poll results: Counting underway in Haryana, Maharashtra

Maharashtra trends: A Modi wave on Sunday spurred BJP into top position in Maharashtra where the assembly elections threw up a hung verdict but the party was all set to capture power in Haryana on its own. Pushed into a possibility of allying with erstwhile friend Shiv Sena, the BJP has won two seats and was ahead in 109 other seats in the 288-member Assembly.

The party may fall short of the majority mark of 145 by over 30 seats which throws open the possibility of a coalition government in the state. The Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of BJP which broke relationship ahead of the elections, has won three seats and was ahead in 54 others.

Maharashtra: Total seats 288

Party+ally      Won    Change
BJP+               91         +75
SS                   48         +18
NCP                 29          -20
Cong                35          -41
Others              15          -32
 

The Congress and NCP, which ruled the state for the last 15 years and fought separately now, are ahead in 40 and 49 seats respectively. Both the parties have won one seat each so far.  In the last elections, Congress had won 82 seats and its then ally NCP had got 62 seats. BJP and Shiv Sena could get 46 and 44 seats respectively then.

In Haryana, BJP appears to be in a position to form the government with a majority. The party was leading in 47 of the 90 seats, two more than the half-way mark of 45.

The INLD was ahead in 18 seats, followed by Congress at 13 and others at 8, according to trends.

In the last elections in Haryana, Congress had got 40 seats followed by INLD which had won 31. BJP had then got 4 and Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) had won six.

Both the formations--Congress and NCP and BJP and its oldest saffron alliance Shiv Sena--fought the elections this time on their own, without any alliance.

Haryana trends: The BJP on Sunday said it will form the government in Haryana with early trends indicating it was winning in 48 of the 90 seats. This is the first time that the BJP is likely to come to power in the state on its own.

Party+ally   Won                Change
BJP               45                      +43
INLD+            18                       -11
Cong             15                       -25
HJC+              2                        -4
Others            6                        -3

The party started on a winning note with the first result being declared in Haryana going to its kitty.
Veteran BJP leader Anil Vij won from the Ambala Cantt seat by a convincing margin of 15,462 votes.
"We will form the next government in Haryana. We will get two-thirds majority," BJP leader Abhimanyu said in Hisar.
The ruling Congress, staring at a rout, drew solace with the result of the Jhajjar (reserved) seat going in its favour. Education minister and Congress candidate Geeta Bhukkal won the seat with a margin of 26,854 votes.
If the BJP wins a clear majority in the assembly, this will be an achievement given the fact that the BJP had won only for assembly seats in the 2009 assembly polls.
BJP in-charge Haryana Kailash Vijayvargiya: "People of Haryana wanted a change. Our party cadres and leaders worked very hard. The credit for our success has to go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah."
On the question of BJP having too many candidates aspiring to be the next chief minister in Haryana, Vijayvargiya said: "The party will collectively decide the next chief minister. He will be someone who will be acceptable to all sections in Haryana."
A party needs to win 46 seats to get a simple majority in the house.
Election officials counting the mass of votes polled Oct 15 said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was clearly ahead of its two main rivals, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the ruling Congress.
The INLD was ahead of others in 21 seats and the Congress in 14. The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and others led in three and five seats respectively.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was leading from his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat.
Union minister Sushma Swaraj's sister Vandana Sharma was also leading from the Safidon seat.
INLD leader and Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala was trailing over BJP candidate Premlata Singh by over 4,000 votes in the high-profile Uchana Kalan assembly seat.
Counting of votes for the 90 seats in Haryana began Sunday morning to decide the fate of 1,351 candidates, including 116 women.
A record 76.54 percent of Haryana's 1.63 crore electorate voted in the assembly polls this time.