The polling booth in Desaiganj, situated in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, witnesses an early morning flurry as eager voters assemble to cast their ballots in the ongoing elections.In the first phase, 97 other seats across another 20 states/Union territories will vote, marking the beginning of the world's largest democratic exercise.
In the 543-member Lok Sabha, Maharashtra has 48 seats, the highest after Uttar Pradesh (80). The counting of votes for all 543 seats will be held on June 4, three days after the seventh and final leg of polling. Of the five constituencies polling in the first leg, the BJP is fighting on four, and its ally, chief minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, on one. Their primary challengers is the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), meanwhile, is contesting on two of the seats.