Sanatan Prabhat > Post Type > News > National News > 65.11% voter turnout till 5 p.m. : Maharashtra Assembly Elections

65.11% voter turnout till 5 p.m. : Maharashtra Assembly Elections

  • Elections marred by party infighting and money distribution

  • Mobile phone users denied entry into polling booths
Credits : News24

Mumbai – 65.11% voter turnout was recorded till 5 p.m. for the Maharashtra assembly elections. Although no serious law and order issue was reported in the state, some untoward incidents took place. Several incidents of money distribution at political party booths and clashes between political workers took place in the state. This marred the elections.

1. In the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the voter turnout was 6.61 percent till 9 a.m., 18.44 percent till 1 p.m. and 32.18 percent till 1 p.m.
2. After 3 p.m., voters thronged many constituencies in the state in the evening. Due to this, the votes of voters who had arrived till 6 p.m. were counted till late in many places.
3. Almost all the leaders of political parties voted along with their families in the morning.

4. Despite the ban on carrying mobile phones, in some places voters were denied entry to the polling station for carrying mobile phones.

Some untoward incidents that took place in the state

A polling station was vandalized in Parli constituency in Beed district, while in some places the EVM machine was shut down, causing delays in voting. Incidents such as voters being shown dead and names not being in the voter list also took place during the assembly elections, just like in the Lok Sabha.

Complaints of money distribution at many places

1. In Nagpur, BJP accused Congressman Bunty Shelke of distributing money. Money was found in his office. Police seized the money and sealed his office.
2. In Dhule, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi activists accused BJP of distributing money at the polling station at Shivaji High School.
3. A case was registered against 9 people for distributing money and liquor in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane district. Complaints of money distribution have also been received in other constituencies in the state.

Scope of the voting process in the state

A total of 4,136 candidates were contesting in this election in the state. Out of these, BJP in the Mahayuti contested 152 seats, Shiv Sena 85, Nationalist Congress 55, while Congress in the Mahavikas Aghadi contested 101 seats, Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s party 95, and Nationalist Sharad Chandra Pawar’s party 87. There were a total of 9 crore 79 lakh 25 thousand 119 voters in the state. In this voting process, a total of 1 lakh 64 thousand 996 EVMs were used at 1 lakh 186 polling stations in 288 constituencies in the state. To ensure the smooth conduct of the voting process, more than 2 lakh police and security personnel from the Home Guard, Civil Defence Force, Central Armed Police Force, State Armed Police Force, State Reserve Police Force were deployed in the state.

Some highlights about the election

1. At the polling station located at Sathe College in Parle, a person voted wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘Batenge To Katenge’ and ‘Ek Hai, To Saef’ written on it.
2. Fulmati Vinod Sarkar, a 111-year-old woman from Govindpur in Mulchera taluka of Gadchiroli district, came to the polling station and voted. Election officials honored Phulmati by giving her a shawl and a shriphal at the polling station.

Arrangement at the polling stations

1. Instructions were posted not to bring mobile phones to the polling stations.
2. Pavilions were set up at many places to protect those standing in the queue from the heat.
3. Priority was given to voting by elderly and disabled voters.
4. Separate queues were made for women and men to vote.

Latest Articles