Mumbai/Chandigarh, October 24: The Election Commission will begin counting of votes for the results of Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections at 8 am today. While initial trends will come by 9-10 am, the final results of assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana are expected to be out by this evening. Stakes are high for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ruled both the states where polls were held on October 21. Congress, on the other hand, tried hard to get back on winning streak. Catch live updates on assembly elections results 2019 here.

In Maharashtra assembly elections, the electoral contest was between the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine. Of 288 assembly seats, the Congress and NCP contested 125 seats each. The remaining seats were distributed among smaller partners. As per the pact between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, the saffron party has 164 seats in its quota, whereas the Uddhav Thackeray-led party fought on 124 seats. Almost all exit polls have predicted BJP-Shiv Sena's victory in the state. Who Will Win Haryana Assembly Elections 2019? Here's What ABP News Opinion Poll Results Predict.

In Haryana, while the BJP and the Congress are contesting on all 90 seats, the BSP is in the fray on 87 seats, and the INLD is contesting on 81 seats. There are some 375 candidates contesting as independents. The Election Commission announced the schedule of Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections on September 21. The last date for filing nominations was October 4. Nominations were scrutinised on October 5.

In 2014, the BJP came to power winning 122 seats in Maharashtra assembly elections. The Shiv Sena, which broke alliance with BJP ahead of polls, managed to bag 63 seats. The Congress and the NCP contested polls separately and won 42 and 41 seats respectively.

In Haryana, the BJP won 47 seats in the 90 member assembly, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won 19 seats, the Congress won 15 seats while others won 9 seats.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2019 07:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).