Mumbai and Kalyan see low participation

The Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 kicked off at 7 am on 20th November, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance aiming to retain power and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hoping for a strong comeback. Voters across all 288 assembly constituencies cast their ballots, with the results set to be declared on 23rd November.

By 5 pm, Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22%, with Mumbai city registering the lowest turnout at 49.07%. According to the Election Commission of India’s data, Thane district reported a turnout of 49.76% by the same time.

Among the 18 Assembly constituencies in Thane district, 134-Bhiwandi Rural led with the highest voter turnout at 61.93%, followed by 135-Shahapur at 59.12%. In contrast, 138-Kalyan West saw the lowest turnout at 41%.

In Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's constituency of 147-Kopri Panchpakhadi, voter turnout stood at 55.77%, while 151-Belapur and 150-Airoli recorded turnout of 51.41% and 50.88%, respectively.

Despite a generally peaceful voting process, tensions flared in the afternoon when a violent clash broke out around 4:30 pm between workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Swarajya Party in Kopar Khairane Sector-5. The altercation was sparked by allegations that money was being distributed to voters. BJP workers accused their rivals of bribing voters, leading to the vandalism of booths belonging to other parties. In retaliation, Swarajya Party workers physically attacked BJP members, leaving Shankar More, son of a former BJP corporator, injured.

In a separate incident, the police seized a suspicious car parked near a polling station in Shivaji Nagar, Nerul, after internet routers and a laptop were found inside, raising concerns over potential election-related misconduct.