Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Records 75% Turnout In Zilla Parishad & Panchayat Samiti Polls

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Polling for the zilla parishad (ZP) and panchayat samiti (PS) elections was held on Saturday, with around 75% voting reported across Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. In all, 830 candidates were in the fray, including 282 contesting ZP seats and 548 for PS seats. The fate of the candidates has been sealed in electronic voting machines (EVMs), and results will be declared on Monday.

The elections generated intense political activity across nine talukas of the district, turning the local body polls into a prestige contest for two MPs and seven MLAs. Voting was held for 63 ZP groups and 126 PS groups, with the outcome expected to reflect the political influence of the MPs and MLAs in these constituencies. While voters appeared to consider party affiliations in ZP contests, individual candidates seemed to carry greater weight in the PS elections.

As the Mahayuti and the Mahavikas Aghadi did not contest in a formal alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Shinde), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi fought independently. This led to multi-cornered contests in most areas and a visible division of votes.

The district administration said polling was conducted peacefully. EVMs were replaced at two locations, while the police maintained strict bandobast throughout the district during the elections.

Polling began at 7.30 am and witnessed a gradual increase in voter turnout throughout the day. By 9.30 am, the voting percentage stood at 7.99 per cent. Turnout rose to 18.92 per cent by 11.30 am and further increased to 35.19 per cent by 1.30 pm. As polling progressed, voter participation reached 51.52 per cent by 3.30 pm. By the close of voting at 5.30 pm, the turnout had significantly improved, touching 75 per cent, indicating strong voter participation in the later hours of polling.