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Counting of votes for the Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana will be carried out on Sunday. As exit polls have shown, both states seem set to jettison incumbent governments. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hopeful of emerging as the single-largest party in both states, a first for the party.
The results for the elections, though fought on local issues, are likely to be a barometer for the performance of the Narendra Modi-government at the Centre, as well as for the election-management strategy of BJP's new president Amit Shah and his fresh team.
Failure to secure majority could force the BJP to review its recent approach towards its allies. In the run-up to the elections, the party parted ways with its ally of 25 years, the Shiv Sena, in Maharashtra; in Haryana, it ended an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress. The Sena has, however, tried to leave the bitterness behind, suggesting a rapprochement might be struck.
For the past 15 years, Maharashtra has had a Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition government, while a Congress government has ruled in Haryana since 2004. The BJP, along with its smaller allies, will need 146 seats to form the government in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly. In the 90-seat Haryana Assembly, the majority mark is 46.
Most exit polls, barring that by Today's Chanakya, have predicted the BJP will fall short of the majority mark in Haryana and the Indian National Lok Dal will be the runner-up. ABP-Nielsen and Today's Chanakya forecasted a simple majority for the BJP and its allies in Maharashtra. The Sena could be the second-largest party.
