Maharashtra Assembly Election: A look at how various regions voted in 2014

Maharashtra is heading for polls to elect a fresh Legislative Assembly. Elections will be held for 288 of the state legislature's 289 seats. One seat belongs to a nominated member.

Voters in Maharashtra will head for polling in a single phase on October 21. On the same day, voters in Haryana will also cast their ballots. Counting of votes will happen on October 24.

There are a total of over 8.9 crore eligible voters in the state. The Election Commission (EC) is setting up 95,473 polling stations in Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to retain power in the heavily-industrialised state, along with its traditional ally - the Shiv Sena.

This National Democratic Alliance (NDA), locally known as 'Maha-Yuti', is being challenged by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that mainly comprises the Congress and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Congress-NCP alliance is locally known as 'Maha-Aghadi'. Congress is being led by its Interim President Sonia Gandhi. Both alliances include other smaller partners.

Some of the other parties, such as Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM are also in the fray.

The political scenario in Maharashtra has changed significantly over the last two decades, with all four major parties have hold over certain areas of the state.

We have divided the state into six regions: North Maharashtra, Mumbai-Thane, Konkan, West Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.

It is to be noted that in 2014, BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP had fought the election alone. This was unlike 2009.

The area spans across the northern flank of the state. It includes Nandurbar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Malegaon, Nashik and Igatpuri. This region has a total of 36 Assembly constituencies.

In 2014, the BJP made heavy gains at the expense of other parties such as the MNS. It won 15 seats. Shiv Sena won seven, to retain its tally. Congress and NCP won seven and five seats, respectively, as opposed to six and nine they had won in 2009.

The area comprises the western section of the state, except the Konkan strip and Marathwada. It includes Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, Sangli, Solapur and Ahmednagar. It has a total of 66 Assembly constituencies.

BJP was the biggest gainer, winning 22 seats, at the expense of the NCP. NCP's tally fell to 18. Shiv Sena and the Congress won 12 and 10 seats here, respectively.

This area comprises only the narrow Konkan strip that forms Maharashtra's seaboard. It stretches from the Goa border in the south, stopping short of the Mumbai Metropolitan region in the north.

The BJP won three of the 18 seats here. Congress and NCP managed to win four and one seat, respectively. The biggest winner was Shiv Sena, which bagged eight seats in this region. Sena has traditionally been a strong party here. Remaining two seats were won by the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWPI).

This region comprises of 60 Assembly seats across Mumbai and Thane district. It also includes Navi Mumbai and Mira Bhayandar.

The Shiv Sena has been traditionally strong here. However, the BJP was the single largest beneficiary of Congress and NCP losing popularity in this urban setup in 2014.

BJP won 24 seats, ahead of Shiv Sena's 21. Congress and NCP won five and four seats, respectively. The Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi (BVA) won three seats in its bastion of Vasai. AIMIM won Mumbai's Byculla seat.

This area is to the extreme east of Maharashtra. Situated around the state's winter capital Nagpur, this region has a total of 60 Assembly seats.

The region has been a BJP stronghold. This was demonstrated in 2014 when it won 42 of the 60 seats there. The region played a key role in propelling the party closer to the half-way mark even though it was contesting without its traditional ally Shiv Sena.

The Sena managed to win just four seats here. The Congress and the NCP won 10 seats and one seat, respectively.

The sugar belt of Maharashtra is also one of the worst drought-affected regions in the country. The area comprises of 48 seats.

BJP won 16 of these seats, followed by Sena's 11. Congress and the NCP won nine seats each. Others won three seats.

The BJP-Sena alliance is hoping to make further inroads into this region.

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