Parbhani district recorded the highest voter participation at 74.89 per cent, while Ratnagiri saw the lowest turnout, with only 55.79 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots
The State Election Commission said the counting of votes will take place on February 9. Representational Pic/File/iStock
Elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra recorded an overall voter turnout of 68.28 per cent, the State Election Commission (SEC) said on Sunday, according to the PTI.
Parbhani district recorded the highest voter participation at 74.89 per cent, while Ratnagiri saw the lowest turnout, with only 55.79 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots.
According to the SEC, Kolhapur followed closely with 74.45 per cent, while Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar registered a turnout of 72.69 per cent.
Voting was held on Saturday across Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur districts.
A total of 731 members are to be elected, with 2,624 candidates contesting the polls.
The State Election Commission said the counting of votes will take place on February 9.
Polls postponed due to state mourning
The elections were originally scheduled for February 5, but were postponed following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and the declaration of three days of state mourning.
These elections are being seen as the first major electoral exercise since the tragedy and are being closely watched for signals on the future direction and unity of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Both factions of the NCP contested the polls in alliance in their strongholds in western Maharashtra, making the results politically significant.
Three officials suspended after Sena MLA votes in minor son's presence
Three officials deployed for Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections were suspended on Sunday after Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumre took his minor son inside an EVM booth in Paithan taluka, violating voting secrecy and election norms, according to the PTI.
The incident occurred on Saturday at the Pachod polling booth, where the fingers of both Bhumre and his son were inked after voting. A video of the incident went viral on social media, prompting district collector and returning officer Dilip Swami to order an inquiry.
According to a release issued by the district administration, the presiding officer of booth number 58/7, Dilipa Narwade, booth officer Sangita Kedar, and home guard Renuka Bomble have been suspended until the inquiry report is submitted.
Narwade and Kedar are school teachers who were drafted for election duty.
MLA down plays incident
Bhumre, the MLA from Paithan, dismissed concerns over the incident when questioned by reporters.
He said his son only wanted ink on his finger while Bhumre was being marked after voting and claimed the child was too young to understand anything about EVMs.
Collector Dilip Swami said the probe was ordered after the video surfaced and was reported by the media. The officer in charge of Paithan taluka has been asked to submit a detailed explanation of the sequence of events.
The collector assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible for the violation.
(with PTI inputs)
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