In 2024 general polls, MVA secured higher vote shares among Maharashtra’s poorer districts
In 2024, the MVA secured a higher vote share in poorer districts, while the Mahayuti appealed more to the richer districts
Over the past decade, the richest districts of Maharashtra have grown even richer at a much faster rate than the poorest districts. A key factor behind this is the hastened transition in these districts to the services sector. On the other hand, a considerable portion of the economies in the poorer districts remains dependent on agriculture. Moreover, an analysis of voting patterns in the 2024 general elections across these economic divisions shows that a larger proportion of voters in richer districts favoured the NDA, while the INDIA bloc held significant sway in poorer districts. This becomes significant as the State votes in Assembly elections on November 20.

For the purpose of this analysis, districts in Maharashtra were divided into five economic groups — very poor, poor, middling, rich, and very rich — based on their per capita Net District Domestic Product (NDDP) at current prices in 2022-23. Districts in the ‘very rich’ category had a per capita NDDP of over ₹3 lakh; those in the ‘rich’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹2.4 lakh-₹2.9 lakh; those in the ‘middling’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹2 lakh-₹2.3 lakh; those in the ‘poor’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹1.5 lakh-₹1.9 lakh; and those in the ‘very poor’ category had a per capita NDDP below ₹1 lakh.