Assembly polls: Maharashtra logs 45% voter turnout, Jharkhand 61% by 3 pm

The counting of votes for Maharashtra Assembly elections and Phase I and Phase II of Jharkhand Assembly elections will be conducted on November 23

Jharkhand Phase II Assembly polls recorded a voter turnout of 61.47 per cent, while Maharashtra saw 45.53 per cent turnout as of 3 pm on Wednesday, accoridng to data shared on the Election Commission's voter turnout app.    Maharashtra, Jharkhand Election Updates

 

Jharkhand Phase II elections: Voter turnout at 3 pm

In Jharkhand, voting began at 7 am across 14,218 booths in 12 districts and is set to conclude at 5 pm, except in 31 booths where polling will end at 4 pm.

 

Over 12.3 million voters, including 6.08 million women and 147 third-gender electors, are eligible to cast their votes.

 

 

The highest voter turnout was recorded in Pakur at 69.31 per cent, followed by Jamtara at 68.24 per cent and Ramgarh at 66.02 per cent, while Dhanbad reported the lowest at 56.32 per cent.

 

A total of 528 candidates are contesting in this phase, including Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri.

 

The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc is aiming to retain power contesting agsint the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.  The first phase of polling was held on November 13, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23.  Updates on Jharkhand Exit Poll Result 2024

 

Maharashtra Assembly elections: Voter turnout at 3 pm

In Maharashtra, voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm across 100,186 polling booths, up from 96,654 in the 2019 elections.

 

The state has over 97 million eligible voters choosing from 4,136 candidates contesting 288 Assembly seats.

 

Gadchiroli district reported the highest voter turnout at 62.99 per cent, while Thane recorded the lowest at 39.94 per cent.  Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s Nagpur South-West seat saw a 41.76 per cent turnout, while Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Baramati seat recorded 43.57 per cent.

 

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is contesting 149 seats under the BJP, 81 under the Shiv Sena, and 59 under the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has the Congress fielding 101 candidates, the Shiv Sena (UBT) contesting 95, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP putting up 86 candidates.  Maharashtra exit polls Live updates

 

Smaller parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) are also in the fray. The BSP is fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM is contesting 17 seats.  The Mahayuti alliance is aiming to retain power, while the MVA hopes for a strong comeback.

 

Voter turnout in 2019 state elections

In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, the voter turnout was 61.44 per cent, a decrease from the 63.13 per cent recorded in the 2014 elections.

 

Meanwhile, the 2019 Jharkhand Legislative Assembly election saw a voter turnout of 65.23 per cent, slightly lower than the 66.53 per cent recorded in the 2014 elections.

 

Counting of votes for both states will take place on November 23.