The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
At 56%, urban areas see increased turnout
MAHARASHTRA CIVIC POLLS
POLLS TO the 10 municipal corporations in Maharashtra’s urban areas on Tuesday saw an increased voter turnout compared to the past two elections. While Mumbai recorded 55 per cent polling, its highest ever in a municipal election, the average voting in the nine other municipal corporations was pegged at 56.77 per cent.
State Election Commission officials said about 56 per cent voters exercised franchise across the 10 corporations.
Besides Mumbai’s 2,275, there were 6,933 candidates in the fray in elections for Thane, Ulhasnagar,nashik,pune,pimprichinchwad, Solapur, Nashik, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur corporations. At 67 per cent, preliminary reports indicate, the highest voter turnout was in Pimpri-chinchwad, where NCP is locked in a fierce contest with BJP.
Other areas where voting percentage increased over last polls are Thane (58 per cent), Pune (54 per cent), Solapur (60 per cent) and Nashik (60 per cent). Voting percentage in Akola (56 per cent), Amravati (55 per cent), Nagpur (53 per cent) and Ulhasnagar (45 per cent) dipped compared to the last elections.
For the 11 zilla parishads and 118 panchayat samitis, the average voter turnout was 69.43 per cent. Highest polling was recorded in Raigad (71 per cent), followed by Sindhudurg (70 per cent), Nashik (68 per cent), Pune (70 per cent), Satatra (70 per cent),sangli(65percent),solapur (68 per cent), Kolhapur (70 per cent), Amravati (67 per cent) and Gadchiroli (68 per cent).