Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Gadchiroli tops in voter turnout at 69.63 per cent; Mumbai City lowest at 49

Voters click a selfie at St Anns High School in Bandra, on Wednesday. PIC/ASHISH RAJE

Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.75 per cent on Wednesday's in the elections for the 288 assembly seats, news agency PTI reported. Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district topped the state with 69.63 per cent polling, while Mumbai City had the lowest turnout at 49 per cent, according to poll officials.

The figures are provisional, with officials noting that the 2019 assembly elections had a higher turnout of 61.74 per cent. The electoral fate of 4,136 candidates, including 2,086 independents, has been locked in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) across the state's constituencies. The ruling Mahayuti alliance is seeking to retain power, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hopes for a return to office after its loss in June 2022. The votes will be counted on November 23.

Meanwhile, the bypoll on the Nanded Lok Sabha seat was also held on Wednesday. The bypoll, necessitated by the death of Congress lawmaker Vasant Chavan, saw a turnout of 53.78 per cent, PTI reported.

Among the Mahayuti constituents, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested on 149 seats, followed by its allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (59) and Shiv Sena (81). The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) fielded 101 candidates from Congress, 86 from NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and 95 from Shiv Sena (UBT).

Gadchiroli district, located in eastern Maharashtra, had the highest voter turnout at 69.63 per cent, PTI reported. In the district, Aheri recorded 68.43 per cent, Armori 71.26 per cent, and Gadchiroli constituency itself saw 69.22 per cent. In contrast, Mumbai City posted the lowest turnout, with just 49.07 per cent, while Mumbai Suburban was slightly better at 52.67 per cent.

Colaba recorded 41.64 per cent turnout, Mahim at 55.23 per cent, and Worli at 47.5 per cent. In the Mumbai Suburban district, Bhandup registered 60.18 per cent, while Dahisar saw 50.98 per cent turnout.

CM's constituency in Thane records 55.77 per cent turnout

In Thane, Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde's constituency, Kopri-Pachpakhadi, had a turnout of 55.77 per cent. Thane district's overall turnout was 50.5 per cent.

In Nagpur South-West, where Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was contesting, 51.54 per cent of voters cast their ballots. The overall turnout in Nagpur district was 56.19 per cent.

In Baramati, where NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar faced his nephew Yugendra, 62.31 per cent of voters participated in the electoral process for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024. The district of Pune recorded an overall turnout of 54.21 per cent.

Polling was also disrupted in certain areas, including owing to incidents of vandalism and clashes between rival party supporters. In Parli, Beed district, a polling booth was vandalised, and a local leader from NCP (SP) was assaulted, prompting a violent reaction. A video of the assault went viral on social media, and the polling booth in Ghatnandur Assembly Constituency was subsequently damaged, with the EVM thrown on the ground and furniture destroyed.

The number of candidates in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 increased by 28 per cent compared to 2019. While 3,239 candidates contested in 2019, a total of 4,136 candidates stood for the polls this time. Among these, 2,086 were independents. More than 150 constituencies saw rebels contesting against official nominees from both Mahayuti and MVA.

There were 1,00,186 polling booths set up across the state for the election. This is a surge from the 96,654 booths set up in 2019. In an effort to boost voter participation, 1,181 polling centres were established in high-rise buildings and housing societies.

(With PTI inputs)