Polling concludes in Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) Jharkhand recorded 67.59 per cent voting till 5 p.m., surpassing 67.04 per cent voting in the 2019 Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India said here on Wednesday. On the other hand, Maharashtra recorded 58.22 per cent polling as of 5 p.m.

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, it said.

Simultaneous polling for all 288 seats in Maharashtra in a single phase and 38 of Jharkhand in phase 2 concluded peacefully, barring some stray incidents. In both the states, voters were still in the queue when reports last came in.

Bypolls in 15 Assembly constituencies and one Parliamentary constituency in 15 states were also held successfully. With this, elections have concluded for Jharkhand and Maharashtra legislative Assemblies and bypolls as well.

In Uttar Pradesh, taking cognisance of complaints regarding arbitrary checking and prevention of voters from voting in certain areas, 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, the poll body said.

Polling took place 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 characterised the atmosphere at polling stations.

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. The poll body said elderly voters were greeted with a certificate and plants at certain polling stations in Mumbai.

A total of 4136 candidates are in the fray for the 288 Assembly seats with an electorate of over 9.7 crore.

In Jharkhand, voters showed up in large numbers across the 38 constituencies in 12 districts. The Commission had made a concerted effort 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.

Bypolls in 15 constituencies and the Nanded Parliamentary constituency also concluded on Wednesday. The polling was conducted on nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand and one in Palakkad, Kerala also went to bypolls.

The ECI said 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 crore in total since the announcement of the Assembly elections, as well as the bypolls and the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on October 15.

In Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the combined seizures (Rs 914.18 crore) are over 7.5 times the figures recorded in the previous elections in 2019, the ECI statement said.

It said the provisional voter turnout figures will continue to be updated as and when the polling parties return from the polling stations.

Counting is scheduled for November 23.

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