New Delhi:
Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019: Polling has begun in all 288 Assembly constituencies of Maharashtra where 3,237 candidates, including 235 women, are in the fray. The voting commenced at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. The BJP-Shiv Sena is looking for second term. Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur South-West, and his predecessors from the Congress -- Ashok Chavan, who is contesting from Bhokar in Nanded district, and Prithviraj Chavan, who is seeking a re-election from Karad South in Satara district. The BJP, under Fadnavis' leadership, is seeking a second straight term in the state. Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, has also entered the poll fray from Worli constituency in Mumbai.
Here are live updates:
60.5% voter turnout recorded till 6 pm in Maharashtra.
Former President Pratibha Patil cast her vote at NCL School in Pune.
Maharashtra: Former President Pratibha Patil cast her vote at NCL School in Pune, for #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/Bht5B4C1Fy
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Activist throws ink on the EVM inside the polling booth in Thane.
43.84% poll percentage recorded till 4 pm in Maharashtra.
Salman Khan cast vote at a polling station in Bandra.
Salman Khan cast vote at a polling vote in Bandra (West), Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/n1q0g3MBhz
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai.
Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections pic.twitter.com/ABPO6Be6rk
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Haji Ibrahim Aleem Joad, a 102-year-old man cast vote along with his family.
Pune: Haji Ibrahim Aleem Joad, a 102-year-old man cast vote along with his family at a polling booth in Lohegaon, says," I was admitted to hospital for 4 days but today I'm here to cast my vote. I urge everyone to come forward & vote." #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/icJK3OhcWy
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri cast their votes.
Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri cast their votes at polling booth no 177 in Bandra West, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/kp6kt9IYWw
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
35% poll percentage recorded in Mumbai City district till 3 pm.
Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai.
Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leave after casting their vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections pic.twitter.com/ABPO6Be6rk
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
BJP MP Sunny Deol cast his vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai.
BJP MP from Gurdaspur, Sunny Deol cast his vote at a polling booth in Juhu, Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections pic.twitter.com/LKMpzM9H6A
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
30.89 per cent voting has been registered across Maharashtra till 1 pm.
Faulty EVMs delayed polling at some booths in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri and Bhandara districts on Monday, an official said. Polling was also halted for sometime at a booth in Worli area of Mumbai due to a technical error, he said. The state Congress unit also sent 187 complaints to the Election Commission of malfunctioning of EVMs. In Ratnagiri's Dhamangaon village, polling was stopped at a booth from 8.30 am to 10 am due to a technical fault in the electronic voting machine (EVM), he said. The EVM glitch also halted the polling process at a booth in Kalamban Gavhanwadi village in Ratnagiri since 9.42 am, he said, adding that voting resumed there around 12.30 pm.
"I request everyone to come out and vote in large numbers, this is a celebration of democracy," says NCP chief @PawarSpeaks after casting his vote in Mumbai#ElectionsWithNewsNation#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls
Follow LIVE updates here: https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/WGbBSr9FJJ
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, wife Anjali and their son Arjun after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West), reports ANI. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls#ElectionsWithNewsNation
Track LIVE updates:https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/EnbVi0W4hR
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
17.5 per cent polling till 11 am in Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Poor voter turnout across state, 5.77% polling till 10 am.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wife Amruta and mother Sarita cast their vote at a polling booth in Nagpur.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar arrives at a polling station in Mumbai’s Tardeo to cast his vote.
#VIDEO | @PawarSpeaks arrives at polling station in Tardeo, Mumbai to cast his vote.#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls#ElectionsWithNewsNation#SharadPawar
Track LIVE updates:https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/9TeUNpaXcG
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
Bollywood star Aamir Khan arrives at polling station to cast his vote.
#VIDEO | Maharashtra Assembly Elections: @aamir_khan arrives at polling station to cast his vote#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls#ElectionsWithNewsNation#AamirKhan
Track LIVE updates:https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/an0N1L49HJ
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
After casting his vote, Gadkari exuded confidence in BJP’s performance in Maharashtra. He said that Devendra Fadnavis will be next Chief Minister of the state.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari casts his vote in Nagpur.
Aaditya Thackeray visits Siddhivinayak ahead of casting his vote. He is making an electoral debut in these elections. He contesting from Mumbai’s Worli constituency.
#VIDEO | Aaditya Thackeray visits Siddhivinayak. He is a contestant from Mumbai’s Worli constituency. @AUThackeray#ElectionsWithNewsNation https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/UKcdbIl8F0
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
Mumbai: Actress Shubha Khote after casting her vote for the Andheri West constituency, reports ANI. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls
📸: ANI#ElectionsWithNewsNation https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/1cTmoIogmj
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
Senior NCP leader and Baramati candidate Ajit Pawar casts his vote. He is pitted against BJP's Gopichand Padalkar.
#Maharashtra : Senior NCP leader and candidate from Baramati, Ajit Pawar after casting his vote, he is contesting against BJP's Gopichand Padalkar, reports ANI.
📸: ANI#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls#ElectionsWithNewsNation https://t.co/nlltE6LChG pic.twitter.com/unjLlOrrNr
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) October 21, 2019
In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 122 seats, the Shiv Sena-63, the Congress-42 and the NCP-41.
Of the 288 constituencies, Nanded-South seat has the maximum 38 candidates, while Chiplun in Ratnagiri district has just three nominees.
Around 1,35,021 VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) machines have also been installed.
Nearly 6.5 lakh polling personnel have been deployed at 96,661 polling booths across the state.
The state has total 8,98,39,600 voters, including 1,06,76,013 in the age group of 18 to 25 years.
As many as 1,400 Independents are also in the fray.
The main contest is between the 'Mahayuti' or grand alliance led by the BJP, and the 'maha-aghadi' (front) led by the Congress and NCP.
The Opposition Congress has fielded 147 candidates and its ally NCP 121.
The BJP has fielded its nominees in 164 Assembly seats, including candidates of smaller allies contesting on its lotus symbol, while the Shiv Sena is contesting 124 seats.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Ribeiro after casting his vote for the Worli Assembly constituency.
RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat was among the first ones to cast his vote for the Nagpur Central constituency
