Mumbai: Counting of votes for assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra began on Thursday morning with the electoral fate of over 4,400 candidates hanging in the balance.
The electoral fate of 1,169 candidates in Haryana and 3,237 candidates in Maharashtra is sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) by the voters, who had exercised their franchise in the assembly elections on October 21.
BJP is contesting 150 seats in 288-member Maharashtra Assembly while its ally Shiv Sena had fielded 124 candidates. The remaining seats were left for smaller allies.
Congress, on the other hand, is contesting the polls in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra.
In both the states, stakes are high for Congress, which could not do well in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year and also for the BJP, which is incumbent in the two states.
Maharashtra
| Party | Win+lead |
| BJP+ | 162 |
| INC+ | 104 |
| VBA | 1 |
| Others | 21 |
Haryana
| Party | Win+lead |
| BJP | 40 |
| INC | 31 |
| INLD+ | 1 |
| Others | 18 |