Bahujan Vikas Aghadi candidate Hitendra Thakur on Wednesday cast his vote at the polling booth in Virar for Vasai Assembly seat under the Palghar Assembly constituency, as voting began for the state's Assembly elections. Voting began at 7 am for the single-phase Maharashtra assembly elections and will conclude at 6 pm. Polling is taking place across 288 assembly constituencies.
The Vasai Assembly election has seven candidates in the race, but the focus is firmly on three prominent contenders: Hitendra Thakur, the sitting MLA and leader of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA); Vijay Patil, a seasoned leader and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) secretary; and Sneha Dube, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and leader of the Shramjivi Sanghatna. Thakur, with a strong foothold in Vasai's political landscape, has represented the constituency for over three decades.
The result for the Vasai Assembly seat, along with the other 287 constituencies, will be declared on November 23. Mumbai Police has deployed over 25,000 personnel, including riot-control teams and home guards. According to the Brihanmumbai Police Commissionerate, more than 2,000 police officers and over 25,000 police personnel are on duty to maintain law and order during the elections.