Elections LIVE | 58% turnout in Maharashtra, 67% in Jharkhand till 5 pm
18.14 pc voter turnout in Maharashtra till 11 am
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 18.14 per cent till 11 am as polling was underway in all 288 assembly constituencies of the state, election officials said.
Gadchiroli district recorded 30 per cent turnout in the first four hours of voting. Aheri in the district saw 30.6 per cent voting, while Armori assembly registered 30.75 per cent polling.
Mumbai city district recorded 15.78 per cent voting, while that of Mumbai suburban district was 17.99 per cent.
The Colaba assembly segment in the megapolis registered 13.03 per cent polling, Mahim 19.66 per cent and Worli 14.59 per cent. In Mumbai suburban, Bhandup polled 23.42 per cent votes.
In Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane, the voter turnout was 18.22 per cent.
The Nagpur South-West constituency, from where Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is in the fray, the voter turnout was 19.91 per cent till 11 am, the officials said.
In Baramati in Pune district, from where Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar is fighting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the poll percentage was 18.81 per cent, they added.
Sandeep Varier visits influential Samastha leader on Palakkad bypoll day
As the voting for the crucial assembly by-poll is underway in Palakkad, former BJP leader Sandeep Varier, who recently joined the Congress party, called on prominent Islamic scholar and Samastha leader Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal at his house here on Wednesday.
Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, popularly known as Samastha, is an apex body of Sunni scholars in the state.
Though Varier termed it as a "courtesy call", it assumes great significance as it came a day after two Malayalam newspapers, the mouthpieces of two prominent factions of the Samastha, published CPI (M)-sponsored advertisements against him.
The paid advertisements featured Varier's alleged old social media posts, sparking a huge political controversy in the state on the eve of Palakkad by-election.
Hours before 2nd phase of Jharkhand polls, Maoists torch five trucks in Latehar
Hours before the commencement of the second and final phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections on Wednesday, five trucks were torched allegedly by Maoists in Latehar district, police said.
The incident occurred in Laat forest under the jurisdiction of Herhanj Police Station around 1.30 am, a senior officer said.
The trucks were deployed in coal transportation at the Tubed coal project in Latehar.
“The trucks were returning after dumping coal when they were set on fire by members of the banned Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a splinter group of Maoists. An investigation has been initiated and raids are being conducted to arrest the perpetrators of the crime,” Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav said.
The Maoists left a pamphlet at the spot in which they threatened to stop the work of loading and transporting at the Tubed coal project until talks are held with the banned outfit, he said.