Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS): The BJP took early leads Sunday in Maharashtra as officials counted millions of votes polled in assembly elections.

Having dumped long-time ally Shiv Sena ahead of the election, the Bharatiya Janata Party led in 75 of the 288 seats in the state, followed by the Shiv Sena at a distant 37.

The Congress was leading in 15 seats and its erstwhile ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in 19. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led in one seat.

Seeing the writing on the wall, the NCP blamed the Congress for the impending rout.

"It all happened because of Chavan," NCP's Nawab Malik told the media, referring to former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress.

"He had no understanding of the issues in Maharashtra, he did not take the right decisions, and he didn't act when he had to. He is responsible for the state of both the Congress and the NCP," Malik said.

The NCP and Congress have been in power in Mahrashtra for 15 years. The coalition came apart just before the Oct 15 polls, leading to President's Rule in the state.