The results were seen as the first verdict on the popularity of the national left-backed Congress government, which took office in May after the shock poll ouster of the Hindu nationalist-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition.

Preliminary election commission figures showed the Congress-National Congress Party (NCP) alliance swept 140 of Maharashtra's 288 constituencies while the opposition Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance had won 119. Independents grabbed the remaining 29 seats.

"It's very clear now that Congress-NCP will form the next state government," said political analyst Raju Parulekar.

Party workers and supporters of the Congress-NCP alliance feted the win, bursting crackers in celebration across Maharashtra, home to Bombay, the nation's financial and entertainment capital.

The winner needed at least 145 of the 288 seats to form a government in Maharashtra, India's second most populous state with nearly 100 million people.

But analysts said victory was well within Congress's grasp as it could draw on the support of independent allies.

Analysts said Congress President Sonia Gandhi's last-minute whirlwind visit to Mumbai and Prime Minister's Manmohan Singh's rallies in rural Maharashtra tilted the balance in the Congress-NCP's favour.