A total of 2.09 crore voters across Maharashtra will cast their ballots today to elect representatives for 12 zilla parishads (ZPs) and 125 panchayat samitis, after campaigning drew to a close on Thursday night.
The electorate includes 1.07 crore men, 1.02 crore women, and 473 others who will decide the fate of candidates vying for 731 ZP seats and 1,462 panchayat samiti seats.
The state has 32 ZPs and 336 panchayat samitis in total. However, elections in 20 ZPs and 211 panchayat samitis were put on hold after the Supreme Court’s intervention, as these bodies had breached the 50 per cent reservation ceiling.
The districts voting today include five from western Maharashtra- Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur; four from Marathwada- Dharashiv, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Latur, and Parbhani; and three from the Konkan region- Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg.
The campaign remained largely sombre following the sudden accidental death of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. Both the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction have fielded candidates together, with many NCP (SP) nominees contesting using the NCP’s clock symbol.
Even Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis distanced himself from active campaigning. He was scheduled to begin campaigning in Konkan on Jan 28, but those plans were shelved after Pawar’s tragic death. Instead, state ministers and local MLAs from the BJP reached out to the voters.
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Moreover, in lieu of physical campaigning, the NCP released a pre-recorded video message from Ajit Pawar, filmed on Jan 24. In this video, he appealed to voters to support the party’s candidates, focusing on the NCP’s commitment to agriculture, rural development, youth employment, and women’s empowerment.
Voting in 12 Zilla Parishads & 125 Panchayat Samitis Today
Total Voter Strength – 2.09 Crore voters
Breakdown by Gender:
– Men: 1.07 Cr
– Women: 1.02 Cr
– Others: 473 lakh
District-wise Voter Distribution at Polling Stations
Western Maharashtra: Pune – Voter Distribution | Polling stations
– Indapur: 3.21L | 400, highest
– Purandar: 1.89L | 235
– Bhor: 1.54L | 237
– Haveli: 2.51L | 263
– Ambegaon: 1.84L | 239
– Junnar: 3.07L | 366
– Khed: 2.95L | 337
– Baramati: 2.64L | 299
– Maval: 2L | 243
– Mulshi: 1.73L | 227
– Shirur: 3.01L | 337
– Daund: 2.73L | 317
– Velhe (Rajgad): 55,230 | 105
Konkan Region:
Raigad: 2.11L | 400 (highest)
Ratnagiri: 2.73L | 317
Sindhudurg: Data not fully visible
Districts going for elections
Western Maharashtra (5 districts):
Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur
Marathwada (4 districts):
Latur, Dharashiv, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani
Konkan (3 districts):
– Sindhudurg
– Raigad
– Ratnagiri
Total Electoral Seats
ZP Seats: Total – 731 Seats in ZPs
Reserved for women: 369
Scheduled Caste: 83
Scheduled Tribes: 25
OBC: 191
Panchayat Samiti: Total – 1,462 Panchayat Samiti seats
Reserved for women: 731
Scheduled Caste: 166
Scheduled Tribes: 38
OBC: 342
Pune Facts:
– Over 29L voters in Pune district
– 3,605 polling stations
– Total Men – 15,22,256
– Total Women – 14,50,014
– Others – 91
