2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election

The 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections were held on 20 November 2024 to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The turnout for the election was 66.05%, the highest since 1995. The BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance won a landslide victory, winning 235 seats of the 288 seats in which the election was held. None of the parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance won the necessary number of seats to obtain the position of leader of opposition, a first in six decades.
Following the election, the BJP's leadership chose Devendra Fadnavis as their choice for chief minister on 4 December 2024. He took the oath as the chief minister for the third time on 5 December 2024.

Background

The tenure of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was set to conclude on 26 November. The last Assembly elections in Maharashtra took place in October 2019. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance secured a majority to establish the government. However, internal conflicts led the Shiv Sena to exit the alliance and join forces with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress, forming a new coalition called Maha Vikas Aghadi. Subsequently, Maha Vikas Aghadi established the state government, with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray assuming the role of chief minister.

Political developments

Following the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde, along with 40 MLAs from his party, formed a government with the BJP with Shinde becoming the new chief minister. After the 2023 Maharashtra political crisis, the Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party also joined the government.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which was the first major election after the split of the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena, Maha Vikas Aghadi won a record breaking 31 out of 48 seats while Maha Yuti could only get 17 seats.

Schedule

Poll event	Schedule
Notification date	22 October
Last date for filing nomination	29 October
Scrutiny of nomination	30 October
Last date for withdrawal of nomination	4 November
Date of poll	20 November
Date of Counting of Votes	23 November

Major issues

Economic concerns

With rising inflation and unemployment, particularly in urban areas caused dissatisfaction among voters. In rural regions, issues such as inadequate crop prices and agricultural distress were prominent. According to data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey for April-June 2024, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 29 years in urban areas stood at 16.8%.

Women's welfare initiatives

The BJP-led Maha Yuti's 'Ladki Bahin' scheme proposed a direct cash transfer of ₹1,500 to women, which was later increased to ₹2,100 in response to the Congress-led MVA's pledge of ₹3,000 per woman. Both alliances also announced similar benefits for youth, senior citizens, and farmers. These promises expected to significantly influence voter preferences, particularly in rural areas facing economic challenges. Additionally, infrastructure development proposals and the perception of which alliance could better attract industrial investments to Maharashtra emerged as key electoral issues.

Political Stability

Between 2019 and 2024, Maharashtra's political landscape was marked by significant instability, characterized by multiple leadership changes and shifting alliances. In 2019, the dissolution of the pre-election alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena over power-sharing disagreements led to the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Indian National Congress, with Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister. The MVA government faced internal challenges, including a rebellion in June 2022 by senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, which resulted in the collapse of the MVA and Shinde assuming the Chief Minister role with BJP support. Further instability followed in July 2023 when NCP leader Ajit Pawar and a faction of MLAs joined the Shinde-led government, causing a split within the NCP. These successive upheavals resulted in three different administrations within five years, creating a climate of political uncertainty.

Exit polls

According to a Lokniti post-poll survey, in the latest election, the Mahayuti garnered 30% of Maratha votes and 40% of OBC votes, creating a strong coalition. About 25% of Adivasi voters and 20% of Scheduled Caste voters supported the Mahayuti. The alliance expanded its base across social groups, while the MVA experienced a decline in support. SC voters displayed diverse voting patterns, with many Buddhists and former Mahars backing parties outside the two alliances. More fragmented voting trends were observed among SCs, Adivasis, and Muslims, as they did not align as strongly with the MVA.

Results

Strike-rate

Strike rate is determined by calculating the number of seats won by a party of the number of seats it contested.

Reactions

On 23 November Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the BJP-led Mahayuti's landslide Maharashtra election victory, emphasizing development, good governance, and unity. He thanked the people of Maharashtra for their historic mandate and praised party workers for their hard work. The BJP named Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra's Chief Minister after their victory with over 230 seats. Fadnavis thanked party leaders, allies, and voters, attributing the success of the elections to Modi.