Maharashtra Assembly Election Results in 1978

The assembly elections to the fifth term of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha were held in March 1978. 1819 candidates were in fray, contesting from a total of 288 assembly constituencies in the 1978 elections. Out of these, 248 were general assembly seats, 18 constituencies were reserved for Scheduled Castes and 22 were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. The Indian National Congress won 69 out of the 259 Assembly constituencies in which it contested, the Janata Party won 99 out of the 215 seats it contested and the Indian National Congress (I) won 62 out of the 203 seats it contested. For the first time in the history of Independent Maharashtra, no single party could form the government, and a coalition came to power, being called the Progressive Democratic Front. During this period, Shivraj Patil of the INC was the speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, before he was replaced by Pranlal Vora of the Janata Party. Sadiq Ali was the governor of Maharashtra during this period. Sharad Pawar was made the chief minister of the state, representing the Progressive Democratic Front, while Nasikrao Tirpude was made the deputy chief minister. This was the time when Indira Gandhi of the INC(I) had become immensely unpopular in the country due to her imposition of the Emergency. Some of the significant legislations passed during the PDF government in Maharashtra were Khar Land Development Act of 1979, Employees of Private Schools Regulation Act of 1978 and Amendment to the Municipal Corporation Act (Bombay) of 1978. President’s Rule was imposed in February 1980, after Indira Gandhi came back to power at the Centre.

List of Successful Candidates in Maharashtra Assembly Election in 1978

List of Participating Political Parties in Maharashtra Assembly Election in 1978