LS polls: 6.33 pc voting till 9 am in Maharashtra; CM Shinde says Mahayuti to win all 10 MMR seats

Mumbai: A voter turnout of 6.33 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Monday in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra where voting was underway in the fifth and final phase of general elections in the state, as per poll authorities.

Among the 13 constituencies, Bhiwandi recorded 4.86 per cent polling, Dhule 6.92 per cent, Dindori 6.40 per cent, Kalyan 5.39 per cent, Mumbai North 6.19 per cent, Mumbai North Central 6.01 per cent, Mumbai North East 6.83 per cent, Mumbai North West 6.87 per cent, Mumbai South 5.34 per cent, Mumbai South Central 7.79 per cent, Nashik 6.45 per cent, Palghar 7.95 per cent and Thane 5.67 per cent, as per official data.

Talking to reporters in Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is the stronghold of the Shiv Sena-BJP where the ruling alliance will win all the 10 seats – six in Mumbai, three in Thane district and the Palghar seat.

Polling booths in many parts of Mumbai saw a good turnout, with prominent persons including Union minister Piyush Goyal, industrialist Anil Ambani and actor Akshay Kumar exercising their franchise in the early hours of voting.

The early voters also included Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik, actor Janhvi Kapoor, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and Marathi theatre actor Prashant Damle.

Voters queued up in large numbers at the polling booths before 7 am with some saying they wanted to avoid the heat later in the day.

In Thane city, there was malfunctioning of EVMs at a couple of booths, but the problem was rectified promptly, district poll officials said.

A voter in Mumbai’s Vile Parle area said, “I decided to vote early to avoid the heat.”

“I wanted to vote and then leave for work,” another elector said.

A voter in Bhandup suburb of Mumbai claimed the enthusiasm among electors shows they want a change.

Shiv Sena’s candidate from Mumbai North West seat Ravindra Waikar, Shiv Sena’s Mumbai South Central seat nominee Rahul Shewale and his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anil Desai cast their votes early in the morning.

BJP’s Mumbai North East seat nominee Mihir Kotecha, its Bhiwandi constituency candidate Kapil Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) Mumbai South seat candidate Arvind Sawant were also among the early voters.

Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Nashik Rajabhau Waje also exercised his franchise in the early voting hours.