Nearly one-fourth of Maharashtra's population, mostly in rural and semi-rural areas, will elect new representatives for 27 Zilla Parishads and 305 Panchayat Samitis, polling for which began Tuesday morning amidst tight security, an official said.

Voting began on a peaceful note at 7.30 a.m. though crowds were not evident at many booths in view of the severe cold wave conditions sweeping most parts of the state.