Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Residents across Marathwada turned out in large numbers to vote for 48 municipal councils and panchayat samitis on Tuesday between 7.30am and 5.30pm. Several municipal councils recorded more than 75% turnout, while some had crossed 50% by 3pm. Long queues were seen at various polling booths, and in several locations, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) malfunctioned briefly. Barring disputes, quarrels and complaints in Beed and Dharashiv district, polling remained peaceful. Results will be declared on December 21.
Voters reported in strong numbers from early morning, and queues continued till evening. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the average turnout was 75.19%, including 82.26% in Khuldabad, 76.83% in Kannad, 74.51% in Sillod, 73.74% in Paithan, 73.30% in Vaijapur and 71.76% in Gangapur.
Nanded records 74.75% turnout
Nanded district saw an impressive 74.75% turnout in elections for 10 Municipal Councils, one Nagar Panchayat and the directly elected president posts. Polling remained peaceful across all 291 booths, with heavy voter presence from early morning.
A total of 1,82,409 voters cast their ballots: 92,048 men, 90,354 women and seven voters from the transgender community. Counting will take place on December 21.
Voters from all sections of society, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, women and transgender voters, participated enthusiastically. Long queues were reported from 7.30am, with polling continuing late in some areas.
Elections were held for 71 candidates contesting the president posts and 873 candidates for the councillor seats.
Under the guidance of District Election Officer and Collector Rahul Kardile, the district monitoring committee ensured strict implementation of procedures. With tight police security and coordinated administration, voting concluded without incident.
By 5.30pm, turnout figures were: Degloor – 71.31%, Biloli – 75.62%, Kundalwadi – 79.39%, Umri – 71.53%, Mudkhed – 73.55%, Bhokar – 75.27%, Himayatnagar – 77.71%, Kinwat – 74.27%, Hadgaon – 65.80% (lowest), Loha – 81.80% (highest), Kandhar – 76.02%.
Kardile inspected polling centres in Loha, Kandhar, Mudkhed, Bhokar and Umri, and polling concluded smoothly across the district.
As the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches of the Bombay High Court have directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to declare all results collectively on December 21, therefore, the model code of conduct will continue until then, with a ban on exit polls until December 20.
The court has also asked the SEC to submit an affidavit regarding objections by December 10.
Meanwhile, the SEC has instructed that all EVMs be kept in strong rooms under 24-hour security until the counting day.
