Maharashtra Lok Sabha election Phase 2 voter turnout: Voting percentage stands at 43.01% till 3 pm

A voter turnout of 43.01 per cent was recorded until 3 pm on Friday in eight constituencies of Maharashtra during the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Voting commenced at 7 am in Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, and Yavatmal-Washim seats in the west Vidarbha region, as well as in Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani constituencies in Marathwada. Voting is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm.

According to the election office, as of 1 pm, the voter turnout in various constituencies was as follows: Parbhani recorded 33.88 per cent, Nanded 32.93 per cent, Wardha 32.32 per cent, Akola 32.25 per cent, Yavatmal-Washim 31.47 per cent, Amravati 31.40 per cent, Hingoli 30.46 per cent, and Buldhana 29.07 per cent.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who recently switched from the Congress to the BJP, cast his vote along with his family members in the Nanded constituency during the early hours.

A total of 1.49 crore voters, including 77,21,374 men, 72,04,106 women, and 432 individuals from the third gender category, are eligible to vote across 16,589 polling centers. They will decide the fate of 204 candidates contesting in the eight seats.

In the fray are a total of 204 candidates, with 21 in Buldhana, 15 in Akola, 37 in Amravati, 24 in Wardha, 17 in Yavatmal-Washim, 33 in Hingoli, 23 in Nanded, and 34 contestants in the Parbhani seat.

On April 19, five seats in east Vidarbha – Nagpur, Ramtek, Chandrapur, Bhandara-Gondia, and Gadchiroli-Chimur – held elections, with a voter turnout of 63.70%.

Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim, and Hingoli are witnessing a direct contest between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT).

In the last general elections in Maharashtra, the undivided Shiv Sena contested in alliance with the BJP. However, it split in 2022 after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion, which led to the collapse of the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Subsequently, Shinde sided with the BJP and became the Chief Minister.

In Buldhana, sitting Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav is contesting against Narendra Khedekar of Sena (UBT).

In Yavatmal-Washim, the Shiv Sena nominated Rajashri Patil, replacing sitting MP Bhavana Gawli. Patil is facing off against Sanjay Deshmukh of the Thackeray-led party.

In Hingoli, the Shiv Sena replaced sitting MP Hemant Patil with Baburao Kohalikar. Kohalikar is contesting against Nagesh Patil Ashtikar of Sena (UBT).

In Parbhani, Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha is contesting against MP Sanjay Jadhav, nominated by the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Jankar has received the backing of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Shinde Sena, and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar, who leads the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), has fielded candidates in seven seats, including himself from Akola. His brother, Anandraj Ambedkar, is contesting in Amravati as a nominee of the Republican Sena.

In Akola, the main contest is between Anup Dhotre of the BJP and Abhay Patil of the Congress, with Prakash Ambedkar as the third candidate.

Amravati is witnessing a battle between MP Navneet Rana, now contesting as a BJP nominee, against Balwant Wankhede of the Congress. Dinesh Bub is the candidate from the Prahar Janshakti Party, an ally of the ruling coalition.

In Wardha, the fight is between former Congress MLA Amar Kale, contesting on the symbol of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), against BJP MP Ramdas Tadas.

In Nanded, BJP MP Pratap Chikhalikar is contesting against Congress nominee Vasant Chavan.

Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, will vote in three more phases between May 7 and May 20.