New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena crossed the majority mark for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, by taking a combined lead on 175 seats

At the time of filing of this report, the BJP was leading on 103 seats, while Sena on 72. Congress was ahead on 41 seats and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party was ahead on 50 seats.

There are 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly. Counting of votes began at 8 am today.

The state went to polls in a single phase on October 21.

The BJP had contested on 150 seats while Shiv Sena had fielded its candidates in 124 constituencies in the state. The remaining seats were left for smaller allies. On the other hand, Congress contested the polls in alliance with the NCP.

Most exit polls have predicted the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance getting elected in Maharashtra but have differed in their projection of the number of seats.

The assembly elections are the first after the BJP-led government's decision to revoke Article 370. A verdict in its favour will give a boost to the party ahead of the winter session of Parliament next month.