Maharashtra witnessed 58.22% voter turnout, according to figures put out by the Election Commission at 5 pm on Wednesday.
Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra recorded a 69.63% voter turnout, while Mumbai city recorded the lowest turnout with 49.07% in Maharashtra as of 5 pm, as per Election Commission figures.
As per EC figures available at 3 pm, among the total 36 districts of Maharashtra, after Gadchiroli, Gondia witnessed the second highest turnout at 53.99 percent.
Mumbai city and its suburbs have recorded 39.34 percent and 40.89 percent polling respectively, while Thane which is near Mumbai, recorded the lowest voter turnout with 38.94 per cent till 3 pm.
Mumbai‘s Colaba assembly constituency registered 33.44 percent polling, while western coastal suburban Mahim assembly constituency recorded a voter turnout of 45.56 per cent, even as Worli’s turnout was merely 39.11 per cent, though the posh Malabar Hill’s voter turnout was 42.55 percent.
In suburban Mumbai, Bhandup located on the central suburban railway, polled 48.82 per cent votes, while Dahisar which is located on the Western suburban railway polled 41.91 percent and Bandra East polled 39.49 per cent, as per EC figures.
In a related development, a polling booth in the Parli Assembly constituency in Maharashtra was vandalised, and a worker from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was assaulted on Wednesday. The constituency is witnessing a high stakes battle since minister Dhananjay Munde of the rival Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction is seeking re-election.
Allegedly, the polling booth was attacked after Madhav Jadhav, a local leader of the Sharad Pawar-led party, was assaulted in the Bank Colony area of Parli town and the video of the assault has gone viral on social media.
Elsewhere in Maharashtra, the Thane city police on Wednesday registered a case against Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) candidate from Kopri-Pachpakhadi Kedar Dighe, who is contesting against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, for alleged possession of liquor and cash, an official said.
Incidentally, Kedar Dighe happens to be the nephew of Shinde’s mentor, the late Thane-based Shiv Sainik Anand Dighe, who wielded huge influence in the Thane region when he was alive.
According to the FIR registered at the Kopri police station, Dighe and a few others were caught with cash in envelopes and liquor at Ashtavinayak Chowk around 2 am, allegedly to distribute the money and alcohol to voters.