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Film director Ashok Pandit arrived at a polling booth to cast his vote in the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Wednesday.
Pandit while speaking to ANI, shared his thoughts on the importance of vote. "I think this should become a compulsion that voting is necessary. Only then things will change in this country of ours. Otherwise, the people will take it very lightly, saying that one vote doesn't matter. But that one vote matters a lot for the development of the greatness of the country," said the filmmaker. Among the many celebs who arrived early to cast their votes were Akshay Kumar, RajKummar Rao and Kabir Khan. Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 6.61 per cent till 9 am on Wednesday in the single-phase assembly elections that began earlier this morning. As per the polling body's data in Maharashtra, the naxal-hit district Gadchiroli recorded the highest voter turnout of 12.33 per cent, while the district of Osmanabad recorded the lowest voter turnout of 4.85 per cent till 9 am. Mumbai city recorded a voter turnout of 6.25 per cent, Mumbai Suburban 7.88 per cent, Nagpur 6.86 per cent, Thane 6.66 per cent, Aurangabad 7.05 per cent, Pune 5.53 per cent, Nashik 6.89 per cent, Jalgaon 5.85 per cent, Satara 5.14 per cent, Kolhapur 7.38 per cent, Dhule 6.79 per cent, Palghar 7.30 per cent, Nanded 5.42 per cent, Ratnagiri 9.30 per cent and Latur 5.91 per cent. A total of 4,136 candidates are contesting the elections, including 2,086 independents. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and the NCP 59. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 86. The BSP is contesting 237 seats, while other smaller parties are also in the fray. The state has approximately 9.7 crore registered voters. Maharashtra witnessed a high-decibel campaign ahead of the elections for its 288 assembly seats. The primary contest is between the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), while the opposition MVA comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and the Congress won 44. In 2014, the BJP claimed 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)
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