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Amit Shah is the man of the moment again, and the party workers at the BJP headquarters are all going out of their way to show it.
The party president was showered with rose petals and accompanied to the entrance by dancing workers.
The Haryana result in particular was fantastic for the BJP, where the party will form the government on its own.
It is ahead in 48 seats in the state, 2 seats over the required 45 for a majority.
In Maharashtra, the party will most likely approach the Shiv Sena to form the government, although the NCP has already offered it outside support.
3.06 pm: NCP prepared to give outside support to BJP
The NCP has said that it will extend outside support to a BJP government in Maharashtra.
Speaking to media a short while ago, Praful Patel said that the party had no option but to look at what would make the most sense, adding that given the numbers, it was clear that only the BJP looked well placed to form the next governemnt.
'This is Maharashtra's only chance for a stable government', he said.
3.00 pm: Expected majority but happy with Maharashtra result, says Gadkari
Union minister Nitin Gadkari admitted Sunday that his party expected to win a majority in Maharashtra but said he was nevertheless happy with the election outcome. 'BJP is number one in Maharashtra for the first time. It is true we expected an absolute majority but even this victory is very big,' Gadkari told reporters.
The BJP has won 17 seats in Maharashtra and is leading in 104 seats in the 288-seat assembly. It, however, failed to bag a majority.
'We will certainly form a government in Maharashtra,' said Gadkari.
A former BJP president and from Maharashtra, Gadkari ruled out the possibility of he becoming the new chief minister in the state.
'I have made it clear that I am happy in Delhi. I am doing good work here. I don't want to go Maharashtra.'
2.30 pm: Chavan addresses press conference, concedes defeat
Former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, who earlier conceded defeat in the assembly polls, addressed the media and once again accepted full responsibility for the party performance in the state.
However he added that things had improved for the party since the Lok sabha elections.
Well... at last count the party was ahead in 44 seats. This is equal to the 44 seats the entire Congress party won in the Lok sabha elections.
2.02 pm: Prithviraj Chavan concedes defeat, accepts responsibility
Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has conceded defeat in the Maharashtra polls and said that he accepts responsibility for the party's performance.
Anticipating the defeat in the assembly elections, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are reportedly preparing to train their guns on former CM Prithviraj Chavan and heap blame for the party's defeat on him, said Firstpost's Vishwas Waghmode in a report before results were announced.
Some of them seem to be miffed by the allegedly lacklustre campaign that the Congress ran under Chavan, compared to BJP's high voltage blitzkrieg led by PM Narendra Modi. 'We could neither match BJP's campaign in appeal nor could be reach out to the masses,' a Congress leader said, requesting anonymity.
He added that what added insult to the injury was Chavan's controversial interview with comments on Adarsh scam, his predecessors and his allies a day before the polling day in Maharashtra. ' We were projecting Chavan's clean image despite the continuous tirade by the opposition accusing him of taking slow decisions during his tenure. But, his clean image was hit after he made controversial remarks on the Adarsh scam and his predecessors. The BJP took advantage of it and used his statements in advertisements on the polling day. It sent out a wrong message in the general public which is likely to cost us'
1.52 pm: Maharashtra Congress president Manikrao Thakre resigns
Maharashtra Congress president Manikrao Thakre has resigned from the Congress party, following the poor showing by the party. At last count, the Congress barely scraped into third place, leading in 44 seats, to the NCP's 42 seats. The BJP had improved its position to 120 seats, while the Shiv Sena had increased its count to leads in 60 seats.
In Haryana, Bhupender Singh Hooda has already conceded defeat, though he won his own seat.
He wished the new government luck. 'Congratulate those who have won and wish the new govt all the best,' he said, adding, 'Am confident that the progress rate that Haryana is on, will not drop.'
1.00 pm: CM will be from BJP, says Devendra Fadnavis
Strap yourselves in for the long haul folks. We could well be looking at an eyeball to eyeball staring match between the allies turned competitors - Shiv Sena and BJP.
Soon after the Shiv Sena insisted that the CM would be from their party, the BJP has said that they will appoint the CM.
Addressing a media conference a short while ago, Maharashtra BJP President Devendra Fadnavis said that the BJP would form the next government and also have the next Chief Minister.
Meanwhile the Shiv Sena is due to hold a meeting at Uddhav Thackeray's house in Matoshree to decide what to do next. Will they join hands with the BJP or will they insist on sitting in the opposition?
12.04 pm: BJP may win but Uddhav is the king
With it now abundantly clear that there is no clear winner in Maharashtra, it looks like Uddhav is the best placed to take advantage of this situation.
At last count, the BJP was leading in 113 seats, while the Shiv Sena seemed to have consolidated its position in second place, with leads in 62 seats. The NCP has pipped the Congress to third place with leads in 45 seats to the Congress' 42.
This means that the BJP will have to go with the Sena in order to form the next government, unless it opts for the NCP which looks to be an extremely unlikely scenario,
Party president Uddhav Thackeray meanwhile has been careful enough to keep his options open. 'We will go with whichever party works for Maharashtra', he has been quoted as saying.
He had also reportedly said that this result proved that there was no Modi wave in the state.
As the vote count continued, Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said: 'Whatever happens, the chief minister will be from our party. We will make our stand clear today evening.'
Meanwhile this cartoon from the NCP seems to sum everything up in Maharashtra nicely:
Election cartoons: The likely Maharashtra alliances #BattleForTheStates http://ift.tt/1vO5AY1
- CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) October 19, 2014
11.43 am: Party high command will decide way forward in Maharashtra, says Kirit Somaiya The Maharashtra BJP held its first press conference post the election results, and said that the party high command would take a final call on what they would do next. The party leaders also attributed the victory to Modi, saying that they had been able to create a 'mini Modi government' in the state. Our party has been able to create a mini Modi govt in Maharashtra 11.36 am: Rajiv Shukla blames anti-incumbency for Cong performances The Congress' Rajiv Shukla has said that anti-incumbency is to blame for the poor performance of the Congress in both Haryana and Maharashtra. 'We have been in power for over ten years in both these states. Clearly there was an anti-incumbency factor', he said, adding that it was natural for a party that swept the Lok Sabha elections to also do well in assembly elections that would be held shortly after. 11.20 am: Narayan Rane loses by 9,000 votes Congress' senior party leader and the party's election campaign chief Narayan Rane has lost to Shiv Sena's Vaibhav Naik in Kudal by 9,000-odd votes media reports have said. Rane, one of Prithviraj Chavan's biggest critics had quit all party positions earlier this year, in a power struggle with the Congress Chief Minister. Ironically enough, Rane was a Shiv Sena Chief Minister for the state. He lost to his main rival, Shiv Sena's Vaibhav Naik by over 10,000 votes. 
Mumbai is big disappointment for SS. Only 9 seats out of 36. Seems Marathi card failed or damaged by MNS. Need to check. - nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) October 19, 2014
And as the results get clearer, we are getting reports that the BJP is already in closed door talks about possible coalitions. CNN-IBN said that Nitin Gadkari has been selected to hold talks with the Sena, while India Times reported that Eknath Khadse, Om Mathur and Devendra Fadnavis were in closed door talks in Mumbai.
10.39 am: In Maharashtra, parties will have to start thinking coalitions
In Maharashtra, it has become abundantly clear that parties will now have to start talking coalitions. The BJP leads in just 109 seats, while the Shiv Sena is ahead in 60 seats. The Congress and NCP are neck and neck with leads in 48 and 47 seats apiece.
So what are the possible combinations?
First, the BJP will look to mollify the Shiv Sena and approach its former ally for a post poll alliance. However it may take some doing, given that the Shiv Sena was extremely hurt by the decision to split.
A second unliklier option will be if the Shiv Sena ties up with the NCP, which has won 47 seats.
And the third and least likely option is if the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress club together and form a non-BJP government. This would be the only realistic way that Uddhav Thackeray will get to be CM, but will mean the end of credibility for the party in the state.
10.22 am: Angry Congress workers renew demand for Priyanka
Routed in Haryana and reduced to third in Maharashtra, the Congress party headquarters in Delhi is not a happy place today. According to ANI news, the demands for Priyanka to 'save' the party have renewed. Check out these tweets:
Seen outside Congress Office in New Delhi http://ift.tt/1sX4pmE - ANI (@ANI_news) October 19, 2014
Back to the results:
In Maharashtra, the BJP leads have fallen somewhat from earlier highs of 118 seats to 109 seats. The Shiv Sena seems to have settled at 61 seats, which is towards the higher end of what was predicted for them in the exit polls.
Congress has outperformed the exit poll predictins, managing to hold on to 50 seats, but try telling that to the party workers.
9.52 am: All leads for Haryana in, BJP easily gets majority
All the leads are in for Maharashtra, and the BJP looks easily set to form the government on its own.
The party is ahead in 52 seats, while the INLD is in second place with 15 seats. Congress is a dismal and distant third with just 13 seats,
We still have to get leads for 2 more seats in Maharashtra, but all indications are that the BJP will fall short.
The party is ahead in 116 seats - remember it needs 144 to form the government. The Shiv Sena is ahead in 56 seats, which is towards the lower end of what was projected for the party in the exit polls. Congress is ahead in 50 seats, while the NCP is leading 44.
Here are how some personal battles are playing out:
9.40 am: BJP ahead in 116 seats, Shiv Sena up to 59The BJP in Maharashtra is now ahead in 118 seats in Maharashtra while the Shiv Sena is ahead in 62 seats.
The Congress is ahead in 43 seats to the 41 by the Congress.
It looks increasingly likely that the BJP will need to reach out to someone to form the next government. Will it be the NCP? Not a chance, says Poonam Mahajan of the BJP.
'Let me be clear. There is no chance of us tying up with the NCP. Our opponents are the Congress and the NCP. We are fed up with the arrogance of the NCP in this state', she said.
9.18 am: BJP looks set to fall just short of majority in Maharashtra
It looks as though the BJP may fall just short in Maharashtra, although the party looks well set to be the largest party in the state. The party is leading in 102 seats, while the second placed Shiv Sena is leading in 55.
Congress has pulled ahead of the NCP, showing leads in 43 seats to the NCP's 39.
CNN-IBN says that the BJP has already begun making overtures to the Shiv Sena.
However speaking to NDTV, BJP Maharashtra President Devendra Fadnavis said that as far as the party was concerned, the Shiv Sena was not the BJP's political opponent.
'Splitting with the BJP hurt us deeply. But we moved on. We don't think we will need the Sena to form the government, but we don't think of them as our political opponents', he said.
Fadnavis also refused to get into the CM debate, saying that he had no such aspirations and was willing to support whoever the party chose.
9.08 am: Early diwali at BJP Delhi HQ, as celebrations begin
As it becomes abundantly clear that the BJP is set to form governments in both Haryana and Maharashtra, celebrations have begun at the Headquarters in Delhi.
In Haryana, the party looks as though it will easily form the next government. It is already ahead in 39 seats. The magic figure in this state is 46 seats and they are almost there.
In Maharashtra however the situation is not that clearcut. The party seems to have lost a lot of its momentum. The BJP is now ahead in just 82 seats, while the Shiv Sena is now ahead in 51. The NCP and Congress are jostling for third place with 36 and 35 seats apiece.
Yet more indication that the parties made a mistake in splitting.
8.52 am: The other Maharashtra takeaway: NCP-Congress made a huge mistake by splitting
As the BJP continues to soar ahead in Maharashtra - the party now leads in 68 seats - the other big takeaway seems to be that the NCP and Congress made a huge mistake by splitting.
The NCP is leading in 22 seats to the 20 leads by Congress. But together they would have been leading in 42 seats - which is still higher than the second placed Shiv Sena. And this is not taking into account the votes that they would have lost by merely splitting.
Now the poll pundits are saying that the BJP may fall short of an absolute majority in the state. The question is, if that proves to be the case, who will it go to? The Shiv Sena or the NCP?
The other takeaway ofcourse is this: Uddhav Thackeray cannot make any claims to be the next Chief Minister of the state.
8.46 am: BJP momentum slows down in Maharashtra
The BJP now looks as though it will easily take Haryana, while in Maharashtra its momentum seems to be slowing a bit. Make no mistake though - it is still far ahead.
The party is now ahead in 49 seats. That is more than double the seats of the second placed Shiv Sena which is leading in 24 seats.
The Congress is in third place with 15 seats, while the NCP seems to have recovered a little with 13 seats,
8.40 am: BJP starts pulling ahead in Haryana
Haryana is not even remotely close anymore. The BJP is leading in 20 seats, leaving both the INLD and Congress in the dust. Both those parties are leading in five seats apiece.
In Maharashtra, the party is consolidating its leads. It is ahead in 34 seats, with the Shiv Sena ahead in 16. Congress is not doing as badly as one would expect - it is showing leads in 12 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP seems to be the biggest loser. It is showing leads in only 4 seats.
8.30 am: Cakewalk in Maharashtra for BJP, Haryana a little closer
The BJP looks all set to form a government on its own in Maharashtra. At latest count the party was ahead in 30 seats, with the Shiv Sena trailing in distant second - with leads in just 11 seats for now.
However in Haryana, the situation is not so clear. The BJP is ahead in 9 seats, but the INLD lead in 3, and the Congress in another 3.
This seems to be completely inverse to what the exit polls were saying!
The two state level losers seem to be the MNS in Maharashtra and the HJC in Haryana, neither of whom have opened their accounts yet.
8.20 am: Shiv Sena opens its account - registers lead in 3 seats
The Shiv Sena has opened its account, registering 4 leads. The BJP meanwhile is only consolidating its leads - it is now ahead in 11 seats.
Although it is extremely early at this stage, the patterns seem to be largely corresponding to that of the Lok Sabha elections. And in a worrying sign for the Shiv Sena in particular, if this trend continues, the BJP will not need anyone's help to form the government in the state.
In Haryana, no one else seems to have registered any leads. The BJP is ahead in all the three seats for which leads are out so far.
8.12 am: BJP pulls ahead in Maharashtra in early leads
The unthinkable has happened! Congress is on the board in Maharashtra. The party has registered its first lead in Malegaon central as results start coming in.
The NCP is also ahead in one seat - Nandgaon. However the BJP is pulling ahead in the state, registering leads in five seats.
The BJP is ahead in Sakri, Raudur, Ajola West, Pune cantonment and Sangli.
8.07 am: First leads come in for Maharashtra - BJP ahead
The first four leads have come in for Maharashtra. The BJP is leading in all.
It is a gain for the BJP from the vidan sabha, but the party is effectively holding on to its 2014 Lok Sabha segments, which is good news for the party given that they did so well in the state.
In terms of the gains it is making from its last vidan sabha performance, the BJP seems to be making gains at the expense of Congress. But this is something that was predicted in every exit poll.
The first lead has come in for Haryana as well - Ladwa. The BJP is leading from here as well.
Bad news for the INLD, as this was one of the seats that the party was reportedly hoping to win.
7.56 am: Captain Abhimanyu predicts sweep for BJP in Haryana
Captain Abhimanyu, the BJP front runner for Haryana Chief Minister if the party sweeps the state as predicted, has said that the state will finally witness the downfall of dynastic politics in the state.
Speaking to Times Now, he said 'aristocratic politics will end and Haryana will see a democratic government for the first time'.
7.30 am: Counting to begin shortly, will results confirm exit poll predictions?
Counting for the state assembly elections held in Maharashtra and Haryana is set to begin a short while from now and of course the big question is, will it be a BJP victory as predicted in the exit polls?
In Haryana, the BJP is expected to win big, with two exit polls: Today's Chanakya and C-Voter predicting that the party would be able to form the government on its own:
In Maharashtra, which witnessed an unprecedented four cornered race following the split up of two old alliances - the Shiv Sena - BJP and Congress - NCP, the exit polls indicate that the results are not that emphatic.
Although the BJP has emerged the single largest party in the state according to all the polls, only one of them (Today's Chanakya) predicted an outright victory for the party with everyone else indicating that they would fall short of an absolute majority.
The biggest takeaway from Maharashtra has been the fact that the BJP has proved to the Shiv Sena that it is simply too large to be the 'junior' coalition partner in the Mahayuti alliance anymore. Whether this will lead to a reunion or a permanent split is anyone's guess at this point.
Although Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray seemed to be turning down the rhetoric against the BJP after lampooning the party in the run up to the polls, party sources have gone on record as saying that he is not too keen on tying up with the BJP for a post poll alliance.
The Times of India quoted a 'key Sena functionary' as saying,' He thinks that if we join the BJP government, the Sena will be accused by the Congress, NCP, MNS and the media of being power hungry. The Sena, he thinks, will lose its moral sheen... 'Yet another deterrent (in being part of the BJP regime) is Thackeray's acerbic onslaught on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah during the poll campaign. 'Even Sainiks will be confused if, after all that happened between the two parties in the last two months, Uddhav-ji decides to lend support to the BJP government'
In his latest editorial, Thackeray had reached out to the BJP saying that it was time for the bitterness and fighting to end, but had said that the exit polls would be proven wrong.
However as Firstpost editor R Jagannathan pointed out, 'The voter, far from rejecting one for the other or even both, gave her support to both of them. This is the only reading possible when both the BJP and Sena gained vote share - even though the vagaries of vote-to-seat conversion favours the BJP for now. The voter effectively celebrated this divorce. She gave the same verdict separately what she would have given them had they been together - around 200-odd seats combined.
And as pointed out by Firstpost reporter Vishwas Waghmode, the Shiv Sena literally cannot afford to lose the support of the BJP:
'Currently, BMC is ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine with the Sena as the major partner. The annual budget of over Rs 31,000 crore of the civic body, believed to be the richest civic body in Asia, is larger than many small Indian state government budgets including Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Utttarakhad, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and others. BMC is the Shiv Sena's main source of generating party funds and retaining control over the political affairs in Mumbai.'
In Haryana, the BJP is already talking Chief Ministers, following the emphatic victory that has been predicted for the party in the state.
However the INLD, the party that looks set to come in second, has trashed the exit polls.
INLD MP, Dushyant Chautala trashed the exit polls, which showed INLD only as the second best. He said, 'There is no if. There is no but. INLD is coming back to power after ten years. We will get a majority and form the government.'
Dushyant added that he did not believe in exit poll predictions. 'Exit polls are bakwas. There is no truth in them. How can you predict such an important election in the state by talking to some 2000-3000 people? Remember there are more than 1.5 crore voters in Haryana. We are getting at least 46 seats, which may go up to 60 out of 90 seats in the state'.
Posted by Unknown on Sunday, October 19, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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