Maharashtra sees nearly 57% polling in state's last phase

The polling was held in six constituencies in Mumbai and 11 other seats spread across the northern and western parts of the state today, having 3.11 crore voters and 323 candidates.

The 17 seats were spread across Mumbai metropolitan region and parts of northern and western Maharashtra, having 3.11 crore voters and 323 candidates.

India's financial capital also witnessed serpentine queues at some places, in an indication of enthusiasm among voters to elect the lawmakers in parliament.

An average of 57 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, an EC official said and informed that the total percentage in all four phases of LS polls stood at 60.68 per cent.

Nandurbar seat in north Maharashtra recorded the highest 67.64 per cent voting, while Kalyan near Mumbai saw the lowest 44.27 per cent polling.

The poll percentage in other seats was as such Shirdi-56.19 per cent, Nashik-55.41 per cent, Dindori-64.44 per cent, Dhule-57.29 per cent, Palghar-57.60 per cent, Bhiwandi-53.68 per cent, Thane-49.42 per cent, Mumbai North-59.32 per cent, Mumbai North West-54.74 per cent, Mumbai North East-56.31 per cent, Mumbai North Central-52.84 per cent, Mumbai South Central-55.35 per cent, Mumbai South-52.23 per cent, Maval-52.74 per cent and Shirur-52.45 per cent.

The state unit of the Congress party made 30 complaints to the Election Commission about alleged glitches in EVMs across the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies.

A majority of the complaints came in from Dhule and Nandurbar, the party said, prompting ally NCP's state chief Jayant Patil to claim that something was "fishy" in the two seats.

NCP president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Union minister Smriti Irani were prominent among political leaders who voted in Mumbai.

MNS president Raj Thackeray and his wife Sharmila waited for over an hour at a polling centre in Shivaji Park area to cast their votes.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya cast their votes at a municipal school in Bandra (East).

Many captains of industry traded their impeccable suits for informal attire as they lined up outside polling booths, many of them located inside civic body-run schools.

Prominent industrialists who voted were Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Anand Mahindra and Adi Godrej.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das was seen standing in a queue outside one such polling station, voting for the first time in Mumbai after shifting from New Delhi following his appointment as the central bank chief in December.

Several Bollywood stars, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor-Khan, cast their votes in Mumbai. Among them, Aamir, Priyanka and Rekha were among the early voters.

Veteran singer Asha Bhosle, actors Hrithik Roshan, Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt and wife Manyata, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, filmmaker Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra and Prem Chopra also voted.

Union minister Subhash Bhamre (Dhule) and Congress nominees Milind Deora (Mumbai-South) and Urmila Matondkar (Mumbai-North) were among the key candidates in the fray.

Mr Deora is pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, while Ms Matondkar took on BJP MP Gopal Shetty.
Other prominent candidates included Congress' Priya Dutt from Mumbai -North Central and Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Parth Pawar from Maval seat.

A large number of first-time voters came out to cast their ballots in Mumbai, marking their formal participation in choosing the next government in the world's largest democracy.

Image credit: UNI