Voting in Maharashtra, to elect the next government in the state, ended today. Polling began at 7 am this morning and was over by 6 pm today. The voter turnout till 3 pm was only 34.2 per cent, significantly down when compared to the turnout till 3 pm in 2014. The final voter turnout was registered at 60.5% for Maharashtra. This is the first state election, or assembly election after this year's national election, which the BJP won by a landslide. For the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP and Shiv Sena are contesting in an alliance, while the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP are contesting together in the other big alliance.
Several regional parties are also contesting either in alliance with these two bigger alliances, or independently. The Maharashtra Assembly election is due as the incumbent Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party in the state has completed its 5-year term, and the next government in the state must be elected and sworn in by November 9, when the current term ends.
Here are the voting day highlights for The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2019:
Fifty-nine VVPAT machines, 34 control units and 19 ballot units (EVMs) were replaced due to technical glitches in 12 assembly constituencies of the district, the District information office said, according to PTI.
READ HERE: Maharashtra Election 2019: Poll Of Polls: BJP Set To Retain Power In Maharashtra, Haryana, Show Most Exit PollsThe ruling BJP is set to win the Maharashtra and Haryana polls, the first since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide win in the national election in May, exit polls said after voting ended in the two states.
READ HERE: Maharashtra Election 2019: 102-Year-Old Pune Man Casts Vote With 40 Family MembersMaharashtra Election 2019: A 102-year-old man came with his family of 40 members to cast vote in Pune's Lohgaon for the Maharashtra assembly elections.
READ HERE: Maharashtra Election 2019: Prakash Javadekar Says "Not Just 220, We Will Cross 222 Seats" In MaharashtraElection in Maharashtra: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday exuded confidence that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra will break all previous records by winning more than 222 seats.
READ HERE: Maharashtra Election 2019: Smriti Irani Introduces Khanna ji, If He Can Vote, What's Stopping YouUnion Minister Smriti Irani, who voted in Mumbai today, introduced a 93-year-old man to appeal to people to step out and participate in the voting process in the Maharashtra election.
"Not just 220, we will cross 222 seats this time in Maharashtra. The Congress had won 222 seats once but we are going to break this record and form an even stronger government this time," Mr Javadekar told news agency ANI.
The Union Minister asserted that BJP was going to win in Haryana too and said that the people were voting for the BJP based on the work done under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The people are coming out to vote in large numbers in both Maharashtra and Haryana. They are once again siding with the BJP, it is because of the work done by both the state governments under the guidance of Narendra Modi," Mr Javadekar said.
Polling for 90 seats of Haryana and 288 constituencies of Maharashtra began at 7 am today and will continue till 6 pm in the evening.
In Maharashtra, BJP is contesting 150 seats while its ally Shiv Sena has fielded 124 candidates. The remaining seats have been left for smaller allies. On the other hand, Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The counting of votes will be done on October 24.
READ HERE: Maharashtra Election 2019: NCP Leader Sharad Pawar To NDTV On Voting Day: "No Question Of Being In Opposition"Sharad Pawar, who virtually led the opposition's campaign for the Maharashtra polls, predicted a "change of government" as voting took place in the state today.
The Chief Minister urged people to take part in this democratic process.
"I appeal everyone should come out and vote. This is the time to take part in the process of democracy. People have right to choose their government and those who vote has more right to keep expectations from their government," the Chief Minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Elections began on 288 constituencies of Maharashtra at 7 am today and will continue till 6 pm. Counting of votes will be held on October 24.
In Mumbai, 9,894 polling stations have been set up at 1,537 locations. 36 out of 288 seats come in the city of Mumbai where 334 candidates are in the contest, reported ANI. The city has 97.72 lakh registered voters.
BJP is contesting on 164 seats, which includes candidates of smaller allies contesting on its lotus symbol, while its key ally Shiv Sena has fielded 126 candidates.
On the other hand, Congress has candidates in 147 constituencies and NCP will contest 121 seats.
Since many women voters have no option but to carry their children along with them to the polling booths, the Election Commission came up with this initiative, the EC official said.
"The experiment was carried out for the first time during the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, and now the EC has replicated the same concept in the Maharashtra polls," the official was quoted as saying by PTI.
"This is the first time that the EC has come up with such a facility for women voters, who can now keep their children at the creche for a brief period and exercise their franchise," he said.
The initiative was taken after the EC observed how voters travelled to the polling stations and how much average time they spent at the booths, he said.
Most of the urban woman voters were found carrying their children along with them to the booths, he said.
"Since rules prohibit taking children inside the voting room, the EC came up with the concept of setting up temporary creches, having a dedicated anganwadi worker and equipped with some toys for kids to play," he said.
The anganwadi workers are employees of the government-run women and child care centres.
In Beed's Balepeer area, over 380 kilometres from Maharashtra capital Mumbai, supporters of Shiv Sena candidate Jaydatt Kshirsagar and NCP candidate Sandeep Kshirsagar had an altercation over allegations of vehicles being used to ferry voters to polling booths, an official said.
The area was tense for a while before police, as well as the two candidates, defused the situation, he added.
In Jalna's Jamkhed area, over 400 kilometres from Mumbai, two groups owing allegiance to local leaders clashed before being separated by police, an official said.
"I would like to appeal this to all the people of Maharashtra to come out and cast their precious votes. I would like to request the young voters, especially, to come to vote for progress in Maharashtra," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI after casting his ballot.
On October 14, Congress leader Sanjay Niupam had called Deora ''Nikamma'' (useless) and downplayed speculation over his absence at Rahul Gandhi's rally in the state during the run-up to the elections.
Mr Deora had earlier replaced Mr Nirupam as the Mumbai Congress chief.
Out of the 288 Assembly constituencies in the state, Maharashtra's Armori witnessed the highest voter turnout of 52.89 per cent and Ulhasnagar witnessed the lowest at 15.70 per cent till 1 pm.
Elections began on 288 constituencies of Maharashtra at 7 am today and will continue till 6 pm. Counting of votes will be held on October 24.
Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri cast their votes at polling booth no 177 in Bandra West, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/kp6kt9IYWw
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar after casting their vote at a polling booth in Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/JQXSL5sxUJ
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Deepika Padukone after casting her vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West), Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/A5uiWkPVms
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Today I went to Polling booth for first time.
- PIB in Maharashtra (@PIBMumbai) October 21, 2019
What about you?
आज मी पहिल्यांदा मतदान केंद्रावर गेलो होतो. तुम्ही गेला होता का?#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/aOSqAVMIbo
After voting, Mr Tendulkar said, "This morning, I read in a newspaper something which is not so common and talks about commitment. The article made a mention of three senior citizens, including one wheelchair-bound 94-year-old person, who was going to make an effort to come out and vote."
The other two senior citizens, 100 and 106 years old, were also making an effort to go to vote, he said, quoting the article.
"So, I think, we could change our tomorrow and make it better. Whoever you feel like supporting, whoever you believe in, you should go out and vote. Whoever is eligible to vote, must vote," he added.
Former India player Sandeep Patil, who was part of the 1983 World Cup winning team, also cast his vote at a polling booth in Shivaji Park area in central Mumbai. Legendary batsman Dilip Vengsarkar, who stays in Worli area of Mumbai, also voted.
मतदान करणे आपल्या सर्वांचे कर्तव्य आहे. माझं मत मी नोंदवलं आहे, आपण सर्व सुद्धा मतदान करून या लोकशाहीच्या सोहळ्याचा भाग व्हा.
- Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 21, 2019
Happy to have voted & fulfilled my responsibility. Let's turn out in large numbers to vote & be part of a vibrant democracy.#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/S1zQXtqEQc
Mumbai: Actors Anil Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Andheri (West). #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/M0FRWQqxCv
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
The state Congress unit also sent 187 complaints to the Election Commission of malfunctioning of EVMs.
In Ratnagiri's Dhamangaon village, polling was stopped at a booth from 8:30 am to 10 am due to a technical fault in the electronic voting machine (EVM), he said. The EVM glitch also halted the polling process at a booth in Kalamban Gavhanwadi village in Ratnagiri since 9:42 am, he said, adding that voting resumed there around 12:30 pm.
In Bhandara district, polling was disrupted from 9:15 am to 9:35 am due to a similar issue, he said. Long queues were witnessed outside these polling stations as the voting process was disrupted.
In Mumbai, polling at a centre near the Doordarshan office in Worli area was halted for sometime due to a technical error, the official told news agency PTI. However, the issue was resolved soon and polling resumed, he added.
Polling was underway in all 288 Assembly seats since 7 am and will end at 6 pm.
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor and BJP MP Hema Malini casts her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai's Andheri (West). pic.twitter.com/xkCxLAhq0r
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Union Minister Smriti Irani after casting her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/o1NUcbDYIa
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor Govinda & wife Sunita cast their vote at a polling booth in Andheri (West). pic.twitter.com/7Jr3XkUgDA
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#WATCH Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar after casting his vote in Mumbai: I request everyone to come out and vote in large numbers, this is a celebration of democracy. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/V920UfLZr9
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
मतदान करणे आपल्या सर्वांचे कर्तव्य आहे. माझं मत मी नोंदवलं आहे, आपण सर्व सुद्धा मतदान करून या लोकशाहीच्या सोहळ्याचा भाग व्हा.
- Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 21, 2019
Happy to have voted & fulfilled my responsibility. Let's turn out in large numbers to vote & be part of a vibrant democracy.#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/S1zQXtqEQc
#AssemblyElections2019 | 13.2% voter turnout recorded in Maharashtra till 11am.#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls #ElectionsWithNDTV
- NDTV (@ndtv) October 21, 2019
Live coverage on https://t.co/Fbzw6mR9Q5 and NDTV 24x7 pic.twitter.com/Dzw1oeEUqO
We have voted. Have you? Do step out and vote today! This is the most powerful voice we have. This is that moment that defines governance and the future of the State. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls #VoteKarMaharashtra #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/5NfWiVyU9M
- Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) October 21, 2019
#VoteKarMaharashtra pic.twitter.com/a1aWpXsFHB
- Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Veteran actor Prem Chopra and Director-lyricist Gulzar leave after casting their votes at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/Lj8zBms7EB
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Aaditya Thackeray is the first in his family to contest elections in the five decades since his grandfather Bal Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena. He is likely to get a walkover in Worli - a Sena stronghold where the opposition candidate, the NCP's Sachin Ahir, crossed over recently.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray, wife Rashmi and sons Aditya and Tejas, after casting their vote in Bandra(East). Aditya Thackeray is a candidate from Worli constituency. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/nleuDjis35
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyElections2019: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wife Amruta & mother Sarita after casting their vote, at a polling booth in Nagpur. pic.twitter.com/iDb5YgE8bt
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Actor Madhuri Dixit leaves after casting her vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/BwiFmUsCin
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Power cut at a polling booth in Pune's Shivaji Nagar; voting underway. pic.twitter.com/DEMcctTE2t
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Former tennis player Mahesh Bhupati, wife and actor Lara Dutta after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/IFy8jc5MNS
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan arrives to cast his vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West), says 'I appeal to all citizens of Maharashtra to come out and vote in large numbers'. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/3VwbrEm3LM
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Another senior Congress leader, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, quit in June and was sworn-in to Chief Minister Fadnavis' cabinet the same month. He will contest the Shirdi Assembly seat.
Among other key names to look out for is that of NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who will contest the Baramati Assembly seat that he resigned from last month after he was named by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case.
Other key Sena candidates include Sunil Raut and Sunil Prabhu, who have been given tickets for the Vikhroli and Dindoshi Assembly constituencies respectively.
The battle for the Kankavli seat will be eagerly watched since it sees Nitesh Rane of the BJP take on Satish Sawant of the Shiv Sena, who had been set to contest as an independent candidate. Nitesh Rane won this seat in 2014 on a Congress ticket.
Another anticipated battle is that between the NCP's Dhananjay Munde and his cousin Pankaja Munde of the BJP. The cousins will fight over the Parli Assembly seat.
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor & BJP MP from Gorakhpur (UP) Ravi Kishan & actress Padmini Kolhapure cast their votes at polling booths in Mumbai's Goregaon & Andheri (West) constituency, respectively. pic.twitter.com/U1tKD18sYM
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Senior Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) leader Praful Patel & his wife Varsha cast their votes at a polling booth in Gondia assembly constituency. Gopal Agarwal from BJP & Amar Varade from Congress are contesting from this constituency. pic.twitter.com/9K0KJ715Y9
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Maharashtra: Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)leader Supriya Sule after casting her vote in Baramati. Her cousin and NCP leader Ajit Pawar is contesting against BJP's Gopichand Padalkar from the constituency. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/unsex40pLC
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
नागपुर में परिवार के साथ मतदान किया। मेरी महाराष्ट्र और हरियाणा के सभी मतदताओं से अपील है कि प्रदेश के प्रगति के लिए वोट जरूर करें।#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/qWjuyMBReh
- Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) October 21, 2019
Union Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai: I am confident that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will win around 225 seats, opposition has lost all credibility and is nowhere in the contest. People are with Modi ji and Fadnavis ji. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/ut0RRhJqyU
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Former cricketer Sandeep Patil, who was also among the early voters at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, said more than the party, the merit of an individual candidate was important. "We should vote for candidates who work for their constituencies," he said.
Voting began at 7 am this morning in all 288 Assembly constituencies of Maharashtra where 3,237 candidates, including 235 women, are contesting. Voting will end at 6 pm.
Ashok Chavan and his family members cast their votes at the Ambedkar Nagar Municipal school in Nanded district. In Mumbai, where it has been raining for the last two days, Ashish Shelar came out to vote at St Stanisluas High school in suburban Bandra.
NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar voted at Baramati in Pune district.
Ashok Chavan is the Congress's candidate from Bhokar in Nanded, while Ajit Pawar is the NCP's nominee from Baramati. Ashish Shelar is the BJP's candidate from Bandra-West seat.
The report by the Maharashtra Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has said that of the 916 candidates, 600 have declared serious criminal cases, while 27 have declared convicted cases.
The report said that 96 out of 162 candidates analysed were from the BJP, 83 out of 147 candidates analysed from Congress and 75 out of 124 candidates analysed from Shiv Sena have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
First votes cast in #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls #MaharashtraElections2019 Live reports on @ndtv @ndtvindia @NDTVIndia_Live @ndtvfeed @NDTVElections This is Navjivan Vidyamandir, where @AUThackeray @OfficeofUT & the entire Thackeray family will vote. https://t.co/dwXflwRc1I pic.twitter.com/7vIkpvpItQ
- Saurabh Gupta(Micky) (@MickyGupta84) October 21, 2019
Maharashtra: Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)leader and candidate from Baramati, Ajit Pawar after casting his vote, he is contesting against BJP's Gopichand Padalkar. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/1FzwYP29Fn
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
The election manifesto released by the Congress-NCP promises farmer-centric policies and a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 for unemployed youth if voted to power in the state. For those already holding jobs, it assured a minimum monthly wage of Rs. 21,000.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Ribeiro after casting his vote for the Worli Assembly constituency. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/J1kMViiwkr
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
विकास और गरीबकल्याण को आधार मान छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज के स्वराज के स्वप्न को साकार करने वाली सरकार को चुनने के लिए आपका एक-एक वोट महत्वपूर्ण है।
- Amit Shah (@AmitShah) October 21, 2019
मैं महाराष्ट्र के अपने भाइयों व बहनों से अपील करता हूँ कि प्रदेश में एक स्थिर और ईमानदार सरकार बनाये रखने के लिए मतदान अवश्य करें।
Mohan Bhagwat, RSS Sarsanghchalak after casting his vote for the Nagpur Central constituency. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/4F0b6X2oP8
- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
आज महाराष्ट्राची जनता पुढील पाच वर्षे कोणाला सरकार चालविण्याची संधी द्यायची हे ठरविणार आहेत.
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2019
तेव्हा महाराष्ट्रातील माझ्या सर्व बंधू-भगिनी विशेषत: माझ्या तरुण मित्रांना माझे आवाहन आहे की, आज विक्रमी संख्येने मतदान करून लोकशाहीचा हा उत्सव समृद्ध करावा!
Elections are taking place for Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies. There are also by-polls taking place in various parts of India. I urge voters in these states and seats to turnout in record numbers and enrich the festival of democracy. I hope youngsters vote in large numbers.
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2019
