Maharashtra is one of the key states in the country; not just economically, but also administratively. 48 MPs from the state are elected to the lower house of parliament, which is the second largest in India. The polls here have always been a closely-fought affair between the current Congress-NCP ruling combine and the BJP-Shiv Sena Combine.

Only 50.7% exercised their franchise in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls of 2009.

In terms of polling results, the state has never drifted to one particular combine. It has always been a mixed result. While in 2004, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine won a total of 25 out of the 48 seats, the result reversed in 2009, where the Congress-NCP combine won 25 seats. Being a large state in terms of demographics, Maharashtra has different support bases for different political parties in different regions of the state. Here is a region wise breakdown of the result in 2009: