Elections LIVE | 58% turnout in Maharashtra, 67% in Jharkhand till 5 pm

Over 61 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm on Wednesday in 38 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the second and final phase, officials said.

“A voter turnout of 61.47 per cent was recorded till 3 PM. Voting has been peaceful,” an Election Commission official said.

The highest voting turnout of 69.31 per cent was reported from Pakur, followed by 68.24 per cent from Jamtara, 66.02 per cent from Ramgarh and 65.84 per cent from Ranchi district.

Dumka recorded a turnout of 64.79 per cent, Deoghar 64.55 per cent, Godda 62.91 per cent, Sahebganj 60.08 per cent, Hazaribag 58.16 per cent and Bokaro 56.38 per cent.

The lowest turnout was recorded in Dhanbad at 56.32 per cent till 3 PM.

Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 45.53 per cent till 3 pm in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, election officials said.

In the bypoll to the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency held simultaneously, the voter turnout till 3 pm was 41.58 per cent, they said.

Gadchiroli tops the list of districts with 62.99 per cent turnout. Aheri assembly seat in the district saw 66.27per cent voting, while Gadchiroli constituency recorded 62.43 per cent voting. Armori saw 60.50 per cent polling.

Mumbai city district and Mumbai suburban district recorded 40.89 per cent and 39.34 per cent voting respectively.

The Colaba assembly segment in the megapolis registered 33.44 per cent polling, Mahim 45.56 per cent and Worli 39.11 per cent. Shivadi recorded 41.76 percent and Malabar Hill 42.55 per cent.

In Mumbai suburban, Bhandup polled 48.82 per cent votes, Dahisar 41.91 percent and Bandra East 39.49 per cent, they said.

In Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane, the voter turnout was 44.60 per cent, while the overall percentage of Thane district was 38.94 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 41.76 per cent till 3 pm, the officials said. Nagpur district recorded 44.45 per cent turnout.

In Baramati constituency in Pune district, from where Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar is fighting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the poll percentage was 43.57 per cent, they officials said, adding that Pune district recorded 41.70 per cent voter turnout.

Nashik district recorded 46.18 per cent turnout till 3 pm.

Bypoll to the Nanded Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the demise of Congress MP Vasantrao Chavan soon after the elections earlier this year.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and leading captains of industry cast their vote in the financial capital for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Wednesday.

Das went to exercise his franchise with his wife at a booth near his official residence in south Mumbai, and complimented the election officials for the arrangements they have made.

Former chairman of HDFC, Deepak Parekh, also voted at a booth in a south Mumbai neighbourhood and appealed to everybody to vote pointing to his swift experience at the booth.

Keki Mistry, Parekh’s long-time colleague who retired as the vice-chairman and chief executive of HDFC, also exercised his franchise at another booth nearby.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran also cast his vote in south Mumbai and called voting a privilege that everybody should exercise.

Industrialist Ajay Piramal also voted along with his wife Swati near his residence in the financial capital. After stepping out, Piramal also urged all the voters to come out and exercise their franchise.

Swati Piramal, an author, said the new government needs to focus on children, women's issues and health.

Textile and realty major Raymond's Gautam Singhania and construction-focused HCC's Ajit Gulabchand were also among the other notable captains of the industry who had voted till about 3 pm.