According to the interim report of Pune district election officials, Velha-Rajgad taluka recorded the highest polling percentage of 79%, followed by Maval 77.43%, Khed 75.46%, Shirur 75.59%, Ambegaon 65.30%, Purandar 68.37%, Mulshi 63.79%, Bhor 75.62%, Bhor 75.62% and Indapur 65.57%. Baramati recorded a low of 54.67%.

Satara district collector Santosh Patil told The indian express“Polling in Satara district till 3.30 pm was around 51.02 per cent. By 5.30 pm, the figure was 70 per cent. In some places like Mahabaleshwar, the recorded voting was 58 per cent at 3.30 pm. In other talukas, it was 54 per cent. Going by these figures, we expect the voting percentage to be between 65 and 70 per cent.”

Patil said that in a couple of places, EVMs faced problems and were replaced quickly.
The vote was marred by verbal clashes between workers of different parties, including BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.

Tense moments were witnessed in Wadgaon Haveli area of ​​Karad Taluka (Satara district) following allegations of fake voting. The BJP and NCP workers indulged in a verbal duel, causing tension in the polling station area. The police intervened and calmed the situation.

In Parbhani district too, moments of tension were witnessed in Ranisavaragaon when a voter, a spiritual seer, alleged that he had been prevented from casting his vote. He alleged that the election officials were dancing to the tune of the BJP. Although the police intervened, he left without casting his vote.

Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumare took his son to vote and even applied ink on his son’s index finger, sparking a controversy. Later, Bhumare clarified, “My son is too young to understand what EVMs are all about. I just applied ink on his finger. I cast my vote,” he said.

An audio clip of a former Shiv Sena minister, which went viral in Dharashiv district, raised eyebrows. The audio clip contained conversations about distributing money to voters.

In Roha taluka of Raigad district, Shraddha Kundale, a voter who exercised her right to vote minutes before marrying her husband, said: “Voting is not just a right but a step towards strengthening democracy… All voters must exercise their right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution.” Also in Sangli village in Savere, another woman, Sonali Mane, cast her vote before her marriage was solemnized on Saturday.

Some 2,200 voters boycotted the elections in Balgavde village in Sangli district to protest the decision to cut down around 15,000 trees for a solar energy project.

The Zilla Parishad elections, being held under the shadow of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash last month, are seen as a litmus test for NCP factions competing in an alliance in their strongholds in western Maharashtra.

On January 28, Ajit Pawar was on his way to campaign for the ZP elections in Baramati Taluka when his plane crashed near the airport. He died in the plane crash along with four other people. After his death, the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis He decided not to campaign. Likewise, the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde He also made a similar announcement. After the death of Ajit Pawar, the ZP’s election campaign lost its steam as most of the top leaders stayed away, leaving it in the hands of local leaders.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar were among the early voters when voting began at 7:30 am.

Sunetra Pawar cast her vote along with her elder son Parth Pawar at a primary school in Katewadi village in Baramati. He called on citizens across the state to actively participate in the democratic process crucial for a better future. Rohit Pawar appealed to voters to ensure victory of the candidates fielded by Ajit Pawar and his party as a tribute to him.

The zilla Parishads of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur, as well as the panchayat samitis under their jurisdiction, are voting to elect their representatives.

The counting of votes will begin at 10 a.m. on February 9, after which the model code of conduct will be drawn up.

The elections, initially scheduled for February 5, were postponed following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28 and the subsequent declaration of three days of state mourning.

CPN (SP) leader Rohit Pawar urged citizens to actively participate in the democratic process by exercising their right to vote.

Political observers believe the outcome will determine whether the two factions, now led by the successors of the late Ajit Pawar and patriarch Sharad Pawar, will eventually merge or not.

The two factions had put aside their two-year-old bitter rivalry to contest these local body elections in an informal alliance in Pune, Satara, Solapur and Sangli, where candidates from both sides are contesting under the original clock symbol.

While grassroots workers have hailed coordination at the local level as a “tribute to Ajit Dada”, top leaders remain cautious.

A total of 2,624 candidates are contesting for 731 zilla Parisad seats, of which 369 are reserved for women, 83 for Scheduled Castes, 25 for Scheduled Tribes and 191 for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Similarly, 4,814 candidates are contesting for 1,462 panchayat samiti seats, of which 731 are reserved for women, 166 for scheduled castes, 38 for scheduled tribes and 342 for other backward classes.