National: Counting of votes for Maharashtra assembly polls is underway. Fahad Ahmad, Sharad Pawar's party candidate, is leading against Sana Malik, of rival NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, in Anushakti Nagar constituency with 2,751 votes as of 12:40 pm, according to data from the Election Commission.  

Fifteen rounds of counting is over, five more to go. 

Anushakti Nagar is a part of the Mumbai South-Central Lok Sabha constituency.

Sana Malik is the daughter of incumbent legislator Nawab Malik. Mr Ahmad, who was once the "yuva" neta of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, crossed over to Sharad Pawar's party days before polls. Mr Ahmad is married to Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker.

The 32 year-old Fahad Ahmad, a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, is a native of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly three hours into the counting of votes for Maharashtra, BJP-led NDA seems set for a landslide win in Maharashtra, which is India's third largest state and its wealthiest.

Most exit polls predicted a Mahayuti win in Maharashtra. However, exit polls have often got it wrong, at time they have been horribly off target.

The polling for 288-member Maharashtra assembly took place on Wednesday, with a turnout of over 66 percent, surpassing the 61 percent recorded in the 2019 elections.

The battle is between the Mahayuti alliance and the Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA.

The BJP is fighting on 148 seats, the most by any party. Its alliance partner Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is contesting on 80 seats while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, the third member of the alliance, is fighting on 53 seats. Five seats have been given to other Mahayuti allies, while there was no decision on two seats.