Polling concludes peacefully in assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand
Polling concludes peacefully in assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand
Jharkhand recorded 67.59% voting till 5 pm, surpassing 67.04% voting in these ACs in 2019 Assembly Elections. On the other hand, Maharashtra recorded 58.22 % polling as of 5 PM. Despite a range of measures by the Commission for ease of voting, and motivational campaigns, urban voters in the state continued their dismal record of low participation in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Thane. Simultaneous polling for all 288 ACs in Maharashtra in a single phase and 38 Acs of Jharkhand in phase-2 concluded peacefully today.
Voting commenced at 7 AM today and was peaceful and orderly. In both states, voters were still in the queue when reports last came in. Bye-polls in 15 ACs and 1 PC in 15 states were also held today. With this, elections have concluded for Jharkhand and Maharashtra legislative assemblies and bye-polls in 48 ACs and 2 parliamentary constituencies of 15 states across the two phases.
CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Shri Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had been keeping a close watch on every aspect of the poll process including measures to enhance poll participation. In Uttar Pradesh, taking cognisance of complaints regarding arbitrary checking and prevention of voters from voting in certain ACs, the Commission, after a thorough enquiry ordered the suspension of police personnel in Moradabad, Kanpur and Muzaffarnagar for violating the norms and guidelines regarding checking of voters. CEC Rajiv Kumar strictly directed all concerned DEOs/SPs and 13 central observers to ensure a free, fair and impartial election process without any bias against any community.
Special emphasis was placed on combating urban apathy owing to the trend of low voter turnout witnessed in urban centres in Maharashtra in past state and parliamentary elections. More than 1185 polling stations were set up in high rise buildings/societies and as per directions from CEC Rajiv Kumar all basic facilities were provided at polling stations including benches for voters in queue, volunteers and wheelchairs. Various awareness and mass mobilisation campaigns were organized ahead of the polls involving film celebrities, ECI state and national icons, to nudge urban and young voters.
Voting in rural and urban areas of Maharashtra
Polling progressed in an orderly manner in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas of both states including Garhchiroli in Maharashtra and Giridih in Jharkhand. Long queues of voters comprising people from different sections of society including first time voters, elderly voters, tribal voters, PwD voters, women voters some bearing children in their arms, voters identifying as third gender, entire families of voters and celebrity voters characterised the atmosphere at polling stations. Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) including toilets, ramps, shed, drinking water ensured that voters could vote comfortably without hindrance.
Security personnel assisting Divyang voters in Gadchiroli
Voters in Jharkhand
In Mumbai, celebrities spurred on voters to show up at the polling booths and fulfil their responsibilities. Cricketer and ECI National Icon Sachin Tendulkar voted along with his family and reiterated his call to others to come out and vote. Elderly voters were greeted with a certificate and plant in certain polling stations in Mumbai. A total of 4136 candidates are contesting for the 288 assembly seats amidst an electorate of over 9.7 crores.
ECI national icon Sachin Tendulkar and Rajkummar Rao at a PS in Mumbai
In Jharkhand, voters showed up in large numbers across the 38 ACs across 12 districts. The Commission had made a concerted efforts to expand the participation amongst tribal voters. Accordingly, right from enrolment to polling booths, a conducive and welcoming atmosphere encouraged tribal voters to show up at the polling booths. 48 Unique Polling Stations had been set up for Phase-II which were adorned by themes reflecting tribal culture and elements. Ahead of the elections, 100% enrolment of the 1.78 lakhs members from 8 PVTGs in the state was ensured in the electoral roll.
Elderly voters at polling stations in Maharashtra and Jharkhand
Bye-Polls in 15 ACs and Nanded PC also concluded today. In Uttar Pradesh, polling was conducted in 9 ACs, 4 ACs in Punjab, Kedarnath AC in Uttarakhand and 1 AC, 56-Palakkad in Kerala also went to bye-polls today.
Visuals of voting at 07-Kedarnath PS in Uttarakhand bye-polls
A constant and unceasing vigil was maintained over attempts at vitiating the level-playing field through money, narcotics and other inducements in these elections. Seizure figures crossed the Rs.1000 crore mark and stood at Rs. 1139 crores in total since the announcement of the assembly elections and the bye-elections and the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on the 15th of October, 2024. In Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the combined seizures (Rs. 914.18 Cr.) is over 7.5 times the figures recorded in the previous elections in 2019. Near perfect coordination was maintained between multiple law enforcement agencies under constant supervision and review by the Commission to curb the role of money and muscle power.
On the facilitative side, a slew of apps and digital platforms provided for the smooth application and processing of requests for campaign related permissions. Over 74,200 applications were approved for campaign related permission on the Suvidha 2.0 app which included 55,700 from Maharashtra and 11,932 from Jharkhand. The cVIGIL app, which enables users to report MCC violations saw 24,992 complaints in the ongoing elections, being resolved with a resolution rate of 99%, of which 20,741 were resolved within 100 minutes.
As of 5 PM, a voter turnout of 58.22% was recorded at the polling stations in Maharashtra and 67.59% in Jharkhand. Polling is still going on in certain polling stations where voters were waiting in queue before the close of poll hours. The provisional voter turnout figures will continue to be updated AC wise on the Voter Turnout App by the ROs, as and when the polling parties formally close the poll and return from the polling stations based on the geographical/logistical conditions and after scrutiny of statutory papers and consideration of repolls, if any. The Commission for convenience of stakeholders, will also issue another press note with provisional voter turnout figures at ~2345 hours tonight.
Counting is scheduled on 23rd of November, 2024.
District-Wise Approximate Voter Turnout in Maharashtra (5 PM)
Sl. No.
Districts
No. ACs
Approximate Voter Turnout %
Ahmednagar
12
61.95
Akola
5
56.16
Amravati
8
58.48
Aurangabad
9
60.83
Beed
6
60.62
Bhandara
3
65.88
Buldhana
7
62.84
Chandrapur
6
64.48
Dhule
5
59.75
Gadchiroli
3
69.63
Gondia
4
65.09
Hingoli
3
61.18
Jalgaon
11
54.69
Jalna
5
64.17
Kolhapur
10
67.97
Latur
6
61.43
Mumbai City
10
49.07
Mumbai Suburban
26
51.76
Nagpur
12
56.06
Nanded
9
55.88
Nandurbar
4
63.72
Nashik
15
59.85
Osmanabad
4
58.59
Palghar
6
59.31
Parbhani
4
62.73
Pune
21
54.09
Raigad
7
61.01
Ratnagiri
5
60.35
Sangli
8
63.28
Satara
8
64.16
Sindhudurg
3
62.06
Solapur
11
57.09
Thane
18
49.76
Wardha
4
63.50
Washim
3
57.42
Yavatmal
7
61.22
Above 36 Districts
288
58.22
District-Wise Approximate Voter Turnout in Jharkhand Phase – 2 (5 PM)
Sl. No.
Districts
No. ACs
Approximate Voter Turnout %
1
Bokaro
4
60.97
2
Deoghar
3
72.46
3
Dhanbad
6
63.39
4
Dumka
4
71.74
5
Giridih
6
65.89
6
Godda
3
67.24
7
Hazaribagh
1
64.41
8
Jamtara
2
76.16
9
Pakur
3
75.88
10
Ramgarh
1
71.98
11
Ranchi
2
72.01
12
Sahebganj
3
65.63
Above 12 Districts
38
67.59
