07 May,2024 06:38 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representative Image/ istock
Voter turnout reached 42.63 per cent by 3 pm in 11 of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, where polling is ongoing in the third phase of the general elections, according to election authorities.
According to data published by the authorities, Kolhapur had the highest turnout (51.51 per cent), followed by Hatkanangale (49.94 per cent) and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (44.73 per cent). Latur had a turnout of 44.48 per cent, and Satara had 42.83 per cent.
As per the data, Raigad saw a voter turnout of 41.43 per cent, Sangli 41.30 per cent, Osmanabad 40.92 per cent, Solapur 39.54 per cent, Madha 39.11 per cent and Baramati 34.96 per cent, stated an ANI report.
According to the report, Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, along with his wife Sunetra Pawar, who is running for Baramati, and his mother Asha Pawar, were among the early voters. They voted at a voting station in Baramati, where Sunetra is running against her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, the current MP.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, his wife Pratibha Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule, and her family, along with MLA Rohit Pawar and his family, also exercised their franchise in Baramati.
After Sule cast her vote, she spoke to the media and said, "In a strong democracy, the Constitution should be kept at the centre and the third phase of voting is taking place, it should be done peacefully."
Actor-couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh voted in Latur, while Union Minister Narayan Rane cast his vote in Sindhudurg. Riteish Deshmukh is the son of late Congress leader and former state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who hailed from Latur. Narayan Rane is the BJP candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, the report added
The third phase saw 2.09 crore eligible voters choosing from 258 candidates, with 23,036 polling centres set up across the constituencies. Male voters numbered 1,07,64,741, female voters 1,02,26,946, and there were 929 third-gender voters.
