SP and BJP accuse each other of Election irregularities, urge EC intervention The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have both raised concerns over alleged election irregularities during the ongoing Uttar Pradesh bypolls.

The counting of votes began at 8 a.m. on Saturday amid tight security arrangements, along with the counting of votes in Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Shiv Sena ruling alliance - Mahayuti - hit the majority mark of 145 after a flying start and is leading on over 210 seats in early trends. The MVA, meanwhile, is struggling to narrow down the gap and leading on 60 seats.

Vote counting for the Maharashtra assembly elections is underway. The state voted on November 20. The Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi alliances are vying for victory. The election features a contest between two factions of the Shiv Sena,

Early trends on Saturday gave an edge to the Mahayuti, bringing in cheer for the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde)-NCP (Ajit Pawar) coalition. In fact, trends till 10am showed that the BJP was leading in more seats than the entire MVA combined.

The Maharashtra election results were declared on November 23 for all 288 assembly seats, three days after the voting was held in a single phase on November 20. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP (Mahayuti) alliance has once again proved its mettle while the Congress-Sena UBT-NCPSP (Maha Vikas Aghadi) remains in the opposition.

According to the Election Commission of India data, the BJP is leading in 39 seats, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is ahead in 22. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, also a partner in the Mahayuti, is leading in 19 seats.

Voter turnout across the state stood at 65.02%, with the Sillod constituency in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district recording the highest turnout of 70.46% by 5 p.m.