Maharashtra's first non-Congress government
What happened
Congress won more seats than any other party, but its total fell sharply, well short of a majority.
The Indian National Congress won 80 of the 288 seats on offer.
The Shiv Sena followed closely with 73 seats.
Independents alone won 45 seats.
What changed
Congress's own position weakened sharply this election, even though it still won more seats than any other single party.
Its seat count fell from 141 to 80.
This was Congress's 4rd straight election as the state's largest party.
28 seats swung directly from INC to Independent candidates, the single biggest shift of the election.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from this election stand out.
Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — reached 69.9%, the highest of any Maharashtra assembly election on record.
The closest race was at Sheogaon, Maharashtra, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 12 votes.
The largest electorate of any seat was Belapur, Maharashtra, with 9,44,365 registered voters.
The most crowded contest was Badnera, Maharashtra, where 47 candidates stood for one seat.
The backdrop
Congress still won more seats than any other single party, but a different alliance formed the state's government this time.
The Shiv Sena–Bharatiya Janata Party pre-poll alliance won a combined 138 of 288 assembly seats in the 1995 election (Shiv Sena 73, BJP 65), more than any single party's tally. Manohar Joshi of Shiv Sena became Chief Minister, forming Maharashtra's first non-Congress state government.