MUMBAI: As the election counting for Maharashtra’s 288 assembly constituencies unfolded, postal ballot trends revealed a closely contested battle between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Election Commission of India’s early data showed that in the first hour of postal ballot counting, Mahayuti led in 142 constituencies, while MVA was ahead in 137. This tight race continued until the counting of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes began, shifting the dynamics in favor of the ruling alliance.
The postal ballot, which includes votes from senior citizens, essential services employees, and military personnel, counted a total of 5.45 lakh ballots. The largest chunk, over 81,000 votes, came from senior citizens, while essential services employees contributed around 31,000. This method of voting, though small compared to EVM ballots (64.08 million), has sparked debates, especially after the Nanded Lok Sabha by-election where postal votes flipped the result in favor of Congress’s Ravindra Chavan over BJP’s Santukrao Hambarde.
As the postal ballot count progressed, Mahayuti’s lead came from the BJP, which led in 84 constituencies, while Shiv Sena and NCP followed with 29 and 24 seats respectively. MVA’s Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) were leading in 56, 40, and 37 constituencies, with smaller allies contributing additional leads.
Despite the initial close race, election experts caution against reading too much into postal ballot trends. Kiran Kulkarni, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, emphasized, “The trends and patterns of the results change with every round based on various aspects including demography and the dominance of particular types of voters.”
Maharashtra Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant raised concerns over EVM reliability, claiming that the postal ballot vote share significantly outperformed their EVM votes, fueling suspicion about the accuracy of the electronic system. NCP-SP leader Rohit Pawar echoed this sentiment, pointing out historical discrepancies between postal ballot and EVM results.
While the postal ballot counting provided an early snapshot, it’s clear that the EVM tally will ultimately decide the fate of the two alliances.
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