Maharashtra polls: Low turnout during early hours

MUMBAI: As voting began for the state assembly election at 7 am in 288 constituencies in Maharashtra, the general trend seen early in the day was of low voter turnout. Till 10 am Mumbai recorded a voting percentage of 8% while other parts of the state too recorded low levels. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the voting at 10 am in Mumbai had crossed 13%.

In Vidarbha, rains and heavy winds prevented voters from getting out of their homes in the first part of the day and the voting was below 7% while in Marathwada region the percentage was slightly higher at about 10%. In Pune the turnout was at 8% while in surrounding areas of western Maharashtra it was 7.5% and in Konkan it was 9% at 10am.

In Mumbai party leaders such as Raj Thackeray and Milind Deora were among the first to vote, Bollywood stars such as Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Rekha too were out to vote in the morning itself.