Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Polling for eight Zilla Parishad and 16 Panchayat Samiti seats in Vaijapur tehsil concluded smoothly on Saturday, recording an estimated 68 per cent turnout, as per the election department.
With polling completed, the electoral fate of 100 candidates 36 Zilla Parishad and 64 Panchayat Samiti has been sealed in electronic voting machines. Vote counting will be held on Monday at Vinayakrao Patil College. Voting began slowly, with turnout at 16.55 per cent by 11.30 am, but picked up significantly in the afternoon, particularly in rural areas, where long queues of men, women and elderly voters were seen. By 3.30 pm, turnout reached 48.76 per cent, with 57,162 men and 52,240 women casting their votes. Heavy polling continued at several centres even after 5.30 pm. Polling was conducted under the supervision of election returning officer Dr Arun Jarhad and assistant returning officer Sunil Sawant. Reserve EVMs were kept at every polling station to avoid technical disruptions. The polling process concluded peacefully across the tehsil.
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Polling at a glance
• Overall turnout: ~68%
• By 11.30 am: 16.55%
• By 3.30 pm: 48.76%
• Total voters: 2,24,388
• Polling stations: 281
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Candidates
• Total: 100
• Zilla Parishad: 36
• Panchayat Samiti: 64
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Bogus voter incident
Villagers at a polling centre in Aghur caught a suspected bogus voter carrying a fake identity card. The person, who identified himself as Somnath Patekar, was caught on camera and the video went viral. However, as no vote was cast, the administration clarified that no legal action was taken.