Lok Sabha poll results: Sena vs Sena in Maharashtra expected to be a nail-biter

A close contest is on the cards in the 13 seats of Maharashtra where rival factions of the Shiv Sena directly took on each other. As per the India Today-Axis My India exit poll, the faction led by Eknath Shinde is likely to win five seats while the Uddhav Thackeray camp may bag three. A close battle is predicted for the rest of five seats.

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Overall, the Shiv Sena and the Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 15 seats and 21 seats respectively. While one faction has the edge in the number of seats, the other is likely to garner a big chunk of vote share in Maharashtra.

As per India Today's exit poll, the Eknath Shinde faction is poised to win 8–10 seats while the Sena (UBT) is likely to bag 9–11 seats. In terms of vote share, the Shinde faction is likely to get 13% of the votes. The other faction may get as much as 20% of the total vote share.

Since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena following the rebellion by Shinde and 40 MLAs, the Lok Sabha polls is the first big election to test the popularity of the two factions.

The Eknath Shinde faction is likely to win in Hingoli, Shirdi, Kalyan, Thane, Bhuldana seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) is likely to emerge victorious in Maval, South Mumbai, Nashik.

Yavatmal, Sambhaji Nagar, Northwest Mumbai, Hatkanangale, and South Central Mumbai are likely to see a neck-and-neck fight.

Out of these five seats, Shinde Sena is on a strong footing in Yavatmal, Sambhaji Nagar and Northwest Mumbai seats. The UBT looks strong on Hatkanangale seat.

An expert said there were multiple factors at work behind the above outcome. "Prime Minister Modi took out many rallies for Shiv Sena candidates wherever they appeared to be weak. This seems to have worked in their favour. Which and how many candidates win will decide the future course for both factions," the expert said.