The newly formed state held its first assembly election, and the result was a landslide.

The Indian National Congress won 214 of the 264 seats on offer.

That was 81 seats more than it needed for a majority.

By vote share, its nearest rival was the Independent, which won just 15 seats.

This was the very first assembly election held in the newly created state, so there was nothing from an earlier state election to measure it against.

Its electorate numbered 1,93,95,799 voters, choosing among 264 assembly seats.

On average, 4.4 candidates contested each seat.

A few numbers from that first election stand out.

The tightest finish of the year was an exact tie: Mahad, Maharashtra's top two candidates finished level, a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 0 votes.

At the other end, Patan, Maharashtra saw the widest margin of the election, with the winner ahead by 77.5%.

Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — was highest in Pusad, Maharashtra, reaching 84.1%.

Chembur, Maharashtra had the largest electorate of any seat, with 1,68,390 registered voters.

The election followed a major reorganization of the wider region.