Maha polls: Independents finish second in 19 constituencies

While the contest was between the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which together constitute six major parties, in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, independent candidates showed their mettle by standing second in 19 constituencies.

• The Mahayuti swept the polls to the 288-member Assembly, with BJP bagging 132 seats

The Mahayuti swept the polls to the 288-member Assembly, with BJP bagging 132 seats while Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena got 57 and 41 went into the kitty of the NCP. The opposition Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar managed to win just 16, 20 and 10 seats, respectively.

In Aheri constituency in Gadchiroli district, independent candidate Raje Ambrish Rao Raje Satyavanrao Atram, who had previously won in 2014 as a BJP candidate and was also a minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government, lost to Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Atram Dharamraobaba Bhagwantrao by just 16,814 votes.

In Airoli constituency in Navi Mumbai, BJP's Ganesh Naik defeated independent challenger Vijay Chougule by 91,880 votes. However, Chougule managed to race ahead of the contestant from Shiv Sena (UBT).

In Amalner (Jalgaon district), independent candidate Shirish Hiralal Chaudhari finished second to NCP's Anil Bhaidas Patil.