Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat were among the early voters to exercise their franchise as polling was underway on Wednesday for the state assembly elections.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Pawar cast their vote at Katewadi in Baramati area of Pune district.
The deputy CM is pitted against his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar in the Baramati assembly seat.
"I am confident that the people of Baramati will stand behind me and I will win the seat with a big lead," Ajit Pawar said.
Yugendra Pawar also cast his vote along with his parents in Baramati.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar casts his vote at a polling station at Katewadi during the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, in Pune district. (PTI)
The BJP, an ally of Ajit Pawar's NCP, on Tuesday played purported voice notes of Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule to allege attempts to encash Bitcoins to influence the state elections, claiming it poses a serious question on the conduct of polls in a free and fair manner.
Asked about it, Ajit Pawar said an investigation should be done to verify the truth in the allegations.
"I was watching the news. I have known Patole for many years. He was the speaker and MLA and I can recognise his voice. Still I cannot correctly say about the voice as there are people who can imitate others' voice," he said.
"But as far as the voice in the present audio notes is concerned, it is Supriya Sule and Nana Patole's voice," the deputy CM further said, adding there will be an inquiry and truth will be known.
Lok Sabha member Sule and her daughter also cast their votes in Baramati.
Speaking to reporters, Sule refuted the BJP's allegations against her.
"Yesterday, the BJP posed five questions too. My answer is 'No' to their allegations. It is not my voice in that audio clip. Anyone can check. I am not at all linked to this matter," she said.
Sule said she is ready to reply to all the allegations of the BJP.
Yugendra Pawar also termed the allegations against his aunt Sule as "baseless and false".
"I am sure I will have the support and blessings of Baramati's people," he said.
RSS head Bhagwat exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Nagpur's Mahal area soon after the voting began at 7 am.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, the RSS chief said in a democracy, voting is the responsibility of every citizen and appealed to the electors to vote on issues and ensure 100 per cent turnout.
"Whenever there is election, I first cast my vote early in the day and then do other works," he said.
Bhagwat said he was in Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand), but cut short his programme and came to Nagpur on Tuesday to vote. "I will leave today," he added.
"Voting is a duty which the electors should perform," he said.
In Mumbai, city BJP chief Ashish Shelar and former Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik were among the early voters.
Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan cast his vote at the Raj Bhavan club polling centre in Mumbai.
Congress leader Amit Deshmukh voted in Latur.
Many voters queued up at the polling booths in several constituencies of Mumbai since 6.30 am.
Actors Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Shubha Khote cast vote
Actors Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Shubha Khote, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and other Bollywood personalities stepped out early Wednesday morning to vote for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections.
“The best thing is that the arrangements are good (at the polling booth), especially for senior citizens, there’s cleanliness. Everyone should come out and vote because that’s the most important thing,” Kumar told reporters after casting his vote.
Rao also appealed to the people to cast vote.
“It is our right in democracy to vote, so it’s important we step out and vote in Maharashtra. I’ve performed my duty. It’s your turn, please vote, it’s very important,” the “Stree 2” actor told PTI.
Veteran actor Shubha Khote arrived with her daughter Bhavana Balsavar to cast vote.
Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and his director-producer sister Zoya Akhtar also stepped out early to vote.
Actor Sonu Sood, who also exercised his franchise, said, "Voting is important for a country. It's the responsibility of every citizen to vote, don't take it as a holiday." TV actor Gautami Kapoor said it’s important for people of all age groups to exercise their democratic right during elections.
"I’ve cast my vote. It’s very important to vote and everybody in India should vote whether you are young or old, make yourself available because one vote will change the country,” Kapoor said.
Maha Vikas Aghadi hopes for a strong comeback
Polling began Wednesday morning in the Maharashtra assembly elections, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback.
Voting began in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23.
Over 9.7 crore voters will be choosing from among the 4,136 candidates in the fray, the official said.
In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies.
In the opposition’s MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.
Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House.
The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.
The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power.
The BJP's use of slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines.
The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's use of "Batenge toh katenge" and PM Modi's "Ek hai toh safe hai” slogans.
Not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar, distanced himself from them. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.
The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine's rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.
Ahead of the elections, the BJP on Monday launched a new ad campaign attacking the opposition MVA and urging people to "Say No to Congress." The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar.
The number of candidates this time has increased by 28 per cent compared to the 2019 state assembly elections. This year, 4,136 candidates are contesting, up from 3,239 in 2019.
Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party's official nominees.
As on October 30, the updated number of registered voters stands at 9,70,25,119, officials said.
Among these, there are 5,00,22,739 male voters, 4,69,96,279 female voters, and 6,101 transgender voters. Additionally, the total number of PwD (Persons with Disabilities) voters is 6,41,425, while the number of service voters from the armed forces is 1,16,170.
There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections. This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters.
Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties.
Since the code of conduct came into force on October 15, cash and items worth Rs 252.42 crore were seized in enforcement actions conducted under various schemes of the central and state governments.
The seized items included Rs 63.47 crore cash, along with 34,89,088 litres of liquor valued at Rs 33.73 crore.
Additionally, Rs 32.67 crore drugs were confiscated, along with precious metals valued at Rs 83.12 crore.
Officials also seized 34,634 pieces of jewellery worth Rs 2.79 crore and 8,79,913 miscellaneous items valued at Rs 36.62 crore.
During the same period, 2,469 complaints related to violations of the Model Code of Conduct were received across the state via the C-Vigil app. Of these, 2,452 complaints, amounting to 99.31 per cent, were promptly resolved.
PTI
