Maharashtra sees highest turnout in 30 years: victory sign, say both alliances

In Jharkhand, where the JMM-led alliance is battling the BJP-led NDA bloc, the turnout was 68.45 per cent.

The rise in voter turnout in Maharashtra is being attributed to the fierce campaign undertaken by the ruling Mahayuti and Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), and could become a key factor in a close contest. During the Lok Sabha elections, the three parties in the Mahayuti — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — polled an aggregate of 42.71 per cent votes, while the three key partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi — Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP SP — together polled 43.91 per cent votes.

The jump in voter turnout by at least 3.5 per cent could emerge as a major factor in deciding who wins the election. As against 8.85 crore registered voters in 2019, the number of registered voters is up by 9.5 per cent to 9.69 crore. So a higher voter turnout on an increased vote base is set to become a key factor in the results to be announced Saturday.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, accompanied by his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya Thackeray, cast their votes in Bandra. (Express Photo by Pradip Das)

Claiming that the increased turnout would help the ruling Mahayuti, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Whenever there is an increase in turnout, the BJP gains politically. It is evident that the polling percentage in Assembly elections have increased as compared to the last elections. This will help both the BJP and Mahayuti.”

But state Congress chief Nana Patole said the MVA looked set to win the election. “In the Assembly elections, there is significant enthusiasm among the people, and the self-respecting citizens of Maharashtra will elect a government that prioritises the state’s welfare. Considering the public’s response, the Congress party will emerge as the largest party in the state. The formation of a Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state is certain,” Patole said.

Provisional numbers released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) show that rural voters came out in large numbers compared to the urban voters. The highest polling in the districts was registered in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra where it was 76.25 per cent. Mumbai city recorded the lowest voter turnout of 52.07 per cent.

For a constituency, Karvir Assembly seat in Kolhapur district recorded the highest voting percentage of 84.79 per cent. The contest in Karvir is between Congress candidate Rahul Patil, son of late MLA P N Patil, against Shinde Sena’s Chandradip Narke.

South Mumbai’s Colaba constituency witnessed the lowest voter turnout at 44.49 per cent. Rahul Narvekar of BJP is contesting there against Hira Dewasi of Congress.

In the high-profile Baramati Assembly seat, where Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is taking on his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar, the turnout was 71.03 per cent, more than the 68.82 per cent in the 2019 elections.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran voted at a polling booth in Peddar Road, Mumbai. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Kopri-Pachpakhadi registered 59.85 per cent as per provisional data until 11.45 pm. Deputy CM Fadnavis’s Nagpur South West seat registered 54.49 per cent voting.

Incidents of violence also marred polling. In Nashik’s Nandgaon Assembly, there was a tense faceoff between Shiv Sena MLA and candidate Suhas Kande and independent candidate Sameer Bhujbal. In Beed’s Parli Assembly seat, workers of the NCP (SP) and the NCP came to blows. There were also complaints about malfunctioning of CCTV cameras at several polling stations and reports of intimidation and force used by some workers in the Ghatnandur area. Some EVMs were damaged, and voting at three polling stations was halted for over an hour.

The total number of electors in Maharashtra is around 9.7 crore, of which 5 crore are male, 4.69 crore female and 6,101 others. According to ECI data, 4,136 candidates are in the fray for the Assembly polls, of which 3,771 are male candidates, 363 female and two others. Of the total 100,186 polling stations, 42,604 are urban while 57,582 are rural.

Meanwhile, exit polls carried by TV channels after voting in Maharashtra and Jharkhand — some channels The Indian Express spoke to said they had not commissioned the polls — gave the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra an edge in the contest against the Maha Vikas Aghadi. In the 288-seat House, the alliance which can manage 145 will form the government.

But these exit polls were divided on the outcome in Jharkhand, where 41 is the majority number in the House of 81 seats. Some predicted the return of the JMM-Congress alliance while others pointed to a NDA victory.

Times Now reported seven polls, out of which six showed the Mahayuti alliance leading or winning Maharashtra.

Pradeep Gupta of Axis My India said he would release the Maharashtra exit poll on November 21, the same date when CVoter is also planning to release its exit poll findings.

Exit polls had gone wrong in the Lok Sabha elections and more recently in the Haryana Assembly polls.

Last month, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, on being asked about exit polls during a press conference on the announcement of Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, said the matter was out of the purview of the poll panel, but those responsible should introspect and self-regulate.

“A big distortion is being created due to exit polls and the expectations they set… There are bodies which govern this… The time has come for these associations… which govern to do some self-regulation,” he said, adding that the sample size and methods of the exit polls are not known, and there is a build-up of expectation from the close of polls till the time of counting.