Assembly Elections: Voting Ends In Maharashtra And Jharkhand, All Eyes Set On November 23 Results

While voting in Maharashtra was held in a single phase, polling for the second and final phase was held in Jharkhand.

A voter shows her identification card as she waits to cast her vote in Jharkhand Assembly elections, in Ramgarh.

Source : PTI

Voting concluded on Wednesday in Maharashtra and Jharkhand as the high-stakes Assembly elections came to an end. While voting in Maharashtra was held in a single phase, polling for the second and final phase was held in Jharkhand.

Voting in both the states started at 7 AM and ended at 6 PM in Maharashtra. However, it ended at 5 PM in Jharkhand, barring 31 booths, where it concluded at 4 PM. As of 5 pm, Maharashtra recorded 58.22 per cent voter turnout, while Jharkhand registered 67.59 per cent.

The Barhait seat where Chief Minister Hemant Soren is contesting reported a 66.13 per cent voter turnout. The Gandey assembly constituency, where CM Soren's wife Kalpana Soren is seeking re-election, recorded 72.83 per cent polling.

In Jharkhand, the highest turnout of 76.16 per cent was reported from Jamtara district, followed by 75.88 per cent from Pakur, 72.46 per cent from Deoghar and 72.01 per cent from Ranchi. Ramgarh registered a turnout of 71.98 per cent, followed by Dumka 71.74 per cent, Godda 67.24 per cent, Sahebganj 65.63 per cent, Giridih 65.89 per cent, Hazaribag 64.41 per cent and Dhanbad 63.39 per cent. The lowest turnout was recorded in Bokaro district at 60.97 per cent till 5 PM. Jharkhand witnessed 67.04 per cent voting in the previous polls.

A total of 4,136 candidates contested across 288 constituencies as the ruling Mahayuti alliance and opposition's MVA engaged in a fierce electoral battle.

In Maharashtra, Gadchiroli topped the list of districts with 69.63 per cent turnout till 5 pm. Aheri assembly seat in the district saw 68.43 per cent voting, Gadchiroli constituency 69.22 per cent and Armori 71.26 per cent. Mumbai city district and Mumbai suburban district recorded 49.07 per cent and 51.76 per cent voting respectively.

In the Colaba assembly segment, 41.64 per cent polling was recorded with Mahim witnessing 55.23 per cent, Worli 47.50 per cent, Shivadi 51.70 percent and Malabar Hill 50.08 per cent. In Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane where Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is pitted against Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Kedar Dighe, the voter turnout was 55.77 per cent.

The Baramati seat in Pune district where Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar is fighting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, 62.31 per cent voter turnout was recorded.

The BJP contested 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP 59. In the opposition's MVA, the Congress contested 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) 86 candidates. In 2019, Maharashtra had recorded a turnout of 61.74 per cent.