In the fourth phase of polling held in 17 seats in Maharashtra, including all the six constituencies in Mumbai, 57 percent voter turnout was recorded, up from 55.72 percent in these seats during the 2014 elections. This rise was not due to any wave, but it was because of multi-corner fight ups across Maharashtra.
According to DNA, in Mumbai, many Lok Sabha constituencies witnessed high turnout. North Mumbai, which is being contested by Urmila Matondkar and Gopal Shetty, witnessed 59.32% turnout against 53.07% in 2014. Mumbai North East reported 56.31% against 51.70% in 2014 where NCP’s Sanjay Dina Patil was contesting against BJP nominee Manoj Kotak. While North Central, where Priya Dutt from the Congress is fighting Poonam Mahajan from BJP, witnessed 55.84% voter turnout against 48.67% in 2014.
It was not just Mumbai which saw a spike in voters turnout. In Baramati, BJP fielded Kanchan Kool against NCP MP Supriya Sule, and as per figures, voter turnout this year was 61.54% in Baramati as compared to 58.83% in 2014. Then in Nanded, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) fielded Yashpal Bhinge against Congress’ Ashok Chavan, so Nanded witnessed a 65.16% voter turnout against 59.93% in 2014. In Solapur, BJP candidate Sidheshwar Swami, VBA founder Prakash Ambedkar were pitted against Congress nominee Sushil Kumar Shinde, So this year Solapur witnessed 58.47% turnout against 55.88% in 2014.
Psephologist Arun Giri told the leading daily, “If people are angry with the incumbent government, they will flock in large numbers to throw the government out of power. Raj Thackeray’s rallies might have motivated many to vote. The result will clear the suspense whether the vote was pro or anti-government.”
For all the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the percentage this time was 60.68, almost similar to that in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which saw 60.32 percent polling. Gadchiroli Chimur Lok Sabha seat witnessed the highest voter turnout at 71.98 percent while the lowest was recorded in Kalyan at 44.27 percent.
