Independent Candidate Garlands EVM Enclosure After Voting In Nashik During LS Polls Phase 5

After casting his vote, Shantigiri Maharaj put a garland on the EVM enclosure and bowed before it.

Candidates were holding on to hope as the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections kicked off on Monday. An Independent candidate, Shantigiri Maharaj, contesting from Nashik, Maharashtra, even put a garland of flowers on the enclosure erected around the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) after casting his vote at a polling booth in the constituency.

In a video shared by ANI, he was then seen bowing to the machine. 

There are 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra where voting is underway. This is the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state. According to PTI, altogether 2.46 crore people are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of 264 candidates in Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai South, Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Palghar, Nashik, Dindori and Dhule seats.

The main contest is between the ruling Mahayuti comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP (Ajit Pawar) and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SCP). In Nashik, the main contest is between the two Senas.

Voting began at 7 am in 24,553 polling centres and will end at 6 pm. Prominent people seen casting their vote include Union Minister Piyush Goyal, industrialist Anil Ambani and actor Akshay Kumar. Other early voters included Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik, actor Janhvi Kapoor, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, and Marathi theatre actor Prashant Damle.

In the last four phases, the average voter turnout was 62.9 per cent, an election official told PTI. In the 2019 elections, the average turnout for these constituencies was 62.5 per cent.