ELECTIONS to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra on Saturday saw a voter turnout of around 67 per cent, the ballot coming 11 days after Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash. The polling percentage was 52.02 till 3.30 pm, an official said. It was around 67 per cent when the voting ended at 5.30 pm, he said, adding that the exact polling percentage will be announced on Sunday. Seen as the first major electoral test since the tragedy, the polls were closely watched for signals on the future direction and unity of the Nationalist Congress Party, whose factions contested in an alliance in their western Maharashtra strongholds.

 

The elections, originally scheduled for February 5, were postponedfollowing the death of Ajit Pawar and the subsequent declaration of three days of state mourning. Votes will be counted on February 9, after which the Model Code of Conduct will be lifted. Polling was held in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv, and Latur districts to elect 731 members, for which 2,624 candidates were in the fray. A voter turnout of 37.94 per cent was recorded till 1:30 PM, according to the State Election Commission. Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar were among the early voters who exercised their franchise after polling commenced at 7.30 am. Sunetra Pawar cast her vote along with her elder son, Parth Pawar, at a primary school in Katewadi village in Baramati. She appealed to citizens across the state to actively participate in the crucial democratic process for a brighter future.

 

NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar urged citizens to actively participate in the democratic process by exercising their right to vote. “By exercising our sacred right of voting, we have paid tribute to Ajitdada’s vision. I appeal to everyone to exercise their democratic right and contribute to the national effort of making democracy stronger,” he stated on X. The elections were watched amid speculation over possible unification of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The two factions had set aside their bitter two-year rivalry to contest these local body polls in an informal alliance in Pune, Satara, Solapur and Sangli, where candidates from both sides contested under the original ‘clock’ symbol. While grassroots workers hailed the local-level coordination as a “tribute to Ajit Dada,” the top leadership remains cautious.