At 65%, Maharashtra clocks better turnout than in 2019

Urban centres such as Mumbai and Thane register a low turnout; minor skirmishes reported in Beed; Naxalism-affected Gadchiroli logs 73.68%; wait begins for counting of votes on November 23

The final voter turnout stood at 65.02% during the single-phase Assembly election on Wednesday (November 20, 2024), the State’s Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam told The Hindu. Polling concluded peacefully, barring minor skirmishes in Beed district.

This marked an increase from the 61.6% recorded during the 2019 Assembly elections.

Mumbai City saw a turnout of just 52.07%, while Mumbai Suburban fared slightly better at 55.77%. Pune registered 60.70%, and Thane reported 56.05%. In contrast, Kolhapur recorded the highest turnout at 76.25%, followed by Gadchiroli, a Left-Wing Extremism-affected district, at 73.68%, and Jalna at 72.30%. Meanwhile, in Nanded, which also held a Lok Sabha bypoll, voter turnout reached 62.89%.

Voters will decide the fate of 4,136 candidates contesting in 288 Assembly constituencies. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23.

“Polling went off peacefully in the entire State, except for one or two incidents which were handled appropriately in Beed district, where there was some commotion in the polling stations as a result [of which] we had to replace the [electronic voting machines] EVMs,” Mr. Chockalingam said.

In Beed’s Parli, where Minister Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was contesting, a polling booth was vandalised, and a worker of the rival Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) was assaulted. Madhav Jadhav, a local leader from the Sharad Pawar faction, was attacked in the Bank Colony area of Parli town. A video of the assault went viral on social media, which was followed by the vandalism of a polling booth in Ghatnandur, according to an official. The official reported that a group of people stormed the Ghatnandur polling booth, damaging furniture and throwing an EVM on the ground.

Urban apathy

Despite extensive voter outreach and ease-of-voting measures carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI), urban centres like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane reported dismal participation on Wednesday. Mumbai City recorded a turnout of just 49%, while Mumbai Suburban saw a slightly better 51.9%. Pune registered a polling rate of 54.1%, and Thane reported 49.9%. In contrast, the Left-Wing Extremism-affected Gadchiroli district set a benchmark with a 69.6% turnout, followed by Kolhapur at 68% and Bhandara at 65.9%. In Nanded, where a Lok Sabha bypoll was also conducted, 53.8% of voters turned up.

“Even though the final polling percentage will come by midnight, it is expected to surpass the 2019 election,” Mr. Chockalingam said.

He added that the voter experience in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, was significantly better than during the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, crediting improved arrangements and the deputation of municipal commissioners as election officers. “Complaints of long queues and inadequate facilities were absent this time. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and the team held a series of video conferences and meetings, especially focusing on polling in Mumbai,” he said.

Heavy security in Gadchiroli

Maharashtra has a total of 9.7 crore registered voters, including five crore men, 4.69 crore women, and 6,101 transgender voters. Among them are 6.41 lakh Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and 1.16 lakh service voters. To accommodate the expanded electorate, over one lakh polling stations were set up, an increase from 96,654 in 2019.

Security measures ensured peaceful voting in sensitive areas like Gadchiroli, where high force deployment prevented any untoward incidents. “Even Gadchiroli, which witnessed an IED blast in 2019, reported no untoward incident,” Mr. Chockalingam said.

Polling began at 7 a.m., with voter activity picking up steadily throughout the day. The peak turnout was recorded between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., with long queues observed even after the official closing time. All voters who arrived by 6 p.m. were allowed to cast their votes.

Impact of NCP, Sena splits

This is the first State election after the split between two major regional parties, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Voters have expressed frustration and confusion due to the political scenario in the State where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti has a faction of the Shiv Sena and NCP as alliance partners, and so does the Opposition’s Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.

The BJP contested 149 seats, with its candidates including key leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrashekar Bawankule, and Girish Mahajan. The Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has fielded 81 candidates, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP contested 59 seats. On the Opposition side, the Congress fielded 101 candidates, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 95 seats, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has candidates in 86 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) are contesting 237 and 17 seats, respectively.

High-profile voters

Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan was among the early voters, casting his vote at the polling booth located at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. “Ours is the biggest democracy of the world. My appeal to all the youngsters, elders and women - they all should come and vote,” he said, urging voters to exercise their democratic rights.

After casting his vote in Nagpur, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat said it was the responsibility of all citizens to exercise their franchise. “In a democracy, voting is a responsibility of citizens. Every citizen must perform their duty. I always make it a point to vote first and do other works later on the polling day,” Mr. Bhagwat said, adding that he had cut short a trip to Uttaranchal to ensure he could vote and would return after fulfilling his democratic duty.

Legendary cricketer and ECI national icon Sachin Tendulkar voted alongside his family, urging others to follow suit. Other prominent figures who were seen exercising their franchise included Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani, and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar.

Published - November 20, 2024 10:54 pm IST