Assembly polls: Maharashtra records 58.22% turnout till 5 pm, Jharkhand 67.59%; sporadic violence reported

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Along with the legislative assembly elections in these two states, bypolls for 15 assembly seats across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand were also conducted on Wednesday

Voting ends in Maharashtra for all 288 Legislative Assembly seats, with a voter turnout of 62.05 per cent. Meanwhile, Jharkhand also went to polls on Wednesday (Nov. 20), for the remaining 38 seats, as voting for 43 constituencies was held on November 13. The voter turnout recorded in Jharkhand was 68.01 per cent — surpassing the 67.04 per cent turnout in the 2019 assembly elections.

Along with the legislative assembly elections in these two states, bypolls for 15 assembly seats across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand were also conducted on Wednesday. 

Voting began at 7 am in Maharashtra and concluded at 6 pm. While, in Jharkhand, the voting began at 7 am and concluded at 5 pm, except at sensitive polling stations where voting ended at 4 pm. The results for both states will be out on November 23. 

Maharashtra elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. 

Meanwhile, in the opposition alliance, Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and the NCP (SP) 86. 

In Maharashtra’s Parli, a polling booth was vandalised, and a worker from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) was assaulted in Parli assembly constituency, Indian news agency PTI reported.

Following the assault, a polling booth was vandalised as the attackers entered the booth, threw the EVM to the ground, and damaged furniture. 

In Jharkhand, the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are facing each other. 

Key candidates include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, and his sister-in-law Sita Soren from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). 

From the BJP, prominent candidates include former CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto, AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri. 

Uttar Pradesh byelections

Voting was held for nine assembly seats in Ghaziabad, Katehari, Khair, Kundarki, Karhal, Majhawan, Meerapur, Phulpur, and Sisamau.

The voting began at 7 am and concluded at 5 pm, with votes to be counted on November 23. 

There are a total of 90 candidates in the UP electoral race. As of 1 pm, the voter turnout was 31.21 per cent.

In UP, a few incidents of violence have been reported. The Election Commission of India (ECI) asked authorities to ensure fair bypolls in the state after an issue was raised over checking voters’ identity.

Amid this, the EC suspended seven police personnel for violating voter guidelines based on complaints by the Samajwadi Party.

“No eligible voter should be prevented from voting. Any kind of biased attitude during voting will not be tolerated. On receiving a complaint, there will be an immediate investigation. If anyone is found guilty, strict action will be taken,” the ECI said in a statement.

This comes after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused police officers of unlawfully checking voter cards and Aadhaar IDs, further urging the poll body to take action based on complaints on its official social media accounts about some communities being prevented from voting.

(With inputs from agencies)