Mumbai:

The ruling BJP-led alliance is leading with a huge margin in Maharashtra and appears set to retain the state. As leads painted a favourable picture for the BJP, a heartwarming phone call between Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his mother is going viral.

Mr Fadnavis is leading by a margin of more than 17,000 votes from Nagpur South West as of 12 pm. A video showed him speaking to his mother, Sarita Fadnavis, who called to congratulate him.

“I will come in the evening. I will finish everything here and come by evening. I will let you know. Thank you, give your blessings,” Mr Fadnavis was heard saying.

Maharashtra Election Results Live Updates Here.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Pravin Darekar demanded that Mr Fadnavis be the next Chief Minister as, he said, the party that secures the highest number of seats should be entitled to get the chief minister’s post.

The BJP is a key constituent of the ruling Mahayuti, comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena and NCP headed by his second deputy Ajit Pawar.

While the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP partnership banded under Mahayuti was leading in 218 of the 288 seats, indicating an apparent landslide win for the ruling alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) was ahead in just 50, as per the latest Election Commission figures.

The data showed the BJP was ahead in 124 seats, close to the halfway mark of 144 on its own, while the Shiv Sena had leads in 56 and the NCP in 38. In contrast, the Congress was ahead in just 19, the Shiv Sena (UBT) in 18 and the NCP (SP) in 15.

If the ruling alliance indeed wins the elections, it would be a significant one as the party would overcome some of its reverses in the Lok Sabha elections.

In the elections, the BJP contested 149 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 81, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP contested in 59 constituencies. In the MVA combine, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) put up 86 candidates.