Maharashtra records 64.36 per cent turnout, with Kolhapur leading at 75 per cent and Mumbai City trailing at 51.27per cent; all eyes on key players as results near
People standing in queue to vote in Malad West. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Having 9.7 crore registered voters, Maharashtra registered a turnout of 64.36 per cent in the Assembly elections on Wednesday till press time. The approximate trends provided officially by the Election Commission were being updated till late at night.
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Kolhapur polled the highest at 75 per cent, while Mumbai City district registered 51.27 per cent. In the 2019 elections, the state had polled 61.4 per cent.
Maharashtra has overachieved the figuers of the previous Assembly election in 2019. Observers expected a match if not an increase, because the polling was held mid-week.
The voting was held for 288 seats, of which 235 were for the general category, 28 reserved for the scheduled castes and 25 for the scheduled tribes. Counting is scheduled for November 23.
In Nanded’s Lok Sabha bye-election, 53.78 per cent turnout was registered. However, the turnout for the Assembly polls was better at 56.69 per cent.
Two major alliances of three parties each were the principal players in the elections that were held to elect the new Lower House. The outgoing House saw dramatic events in the past five years making these elections an unprecedented event. In five years, the state had three CMs of which two—Uddhav Thackeray (then united Shiv Sena) and Eknath Shinde (the Sena splinter) worked for two and half years each. Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) stayed for only three days after being sworn in, but he is again in the reckoning for the top job from the BJP-Mahayuti.
Of the alliances’ leaders, Thackeray (MLC) and NCP-SP Chief Sharad Pawar (Rajya Sabha MP) did not contest polls. CM Shinde (Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane, 55.77 per cent), Fadnavis (Nagpur South-West, 51.89 per cent), Ajit Pawar (Baramati, 62.31 per cent), and Nana Patole (Sakoli in Bhandara, 67.21 per cent) were in the contest.
Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya (Worli), and Raj Thackeray’s son Amit (making a debut in Mahim) have the state’s eyes on them. Yugendra (NCP-SP) from the Pawar family has challenged his uncle Ajit in Baramati. His cousin Rohit Pawar (NCP-SP) is vying for the second term from Karjat-Jamkhed. Narayan Rane’s two sons Nitesh (BJP) and Nilesh (Shinde Sena) are also in the fight.
BJP’s State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule has an opportunity to leave behind the unceremonious denial of party ticket in 2019.
He has returned to Kamptee to fight it out. His party colleague Sudhir Mungantiwar, fresh from the Lok Sabha defeat, would like to win from Ballarpur. Multi-term MLAs and Congress leaders Vijay Wadettiwar, Balasasheb Thorat and Arif Naseem Khan have their eyes set on the results and developments thereon.
Nov 23
Day of counting
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