Around 64% voting recorded for Pandharpur bypoll

Voters came out to exercise their right despite the surge in Covid-19 pandemic and rise in temperature. The turnout figures are subject to change as the polling procedure was going on till late Saturday.

Around 64% voting was recorded in Pandharpur-Mangalwedha constituency in Solapur of western Maharashtra on Saturday till 7pm. Voters came out to exercise their right despite the surge in Covid-19 pandemic and rise in temperature. The turnout figures are subject to change as the polling procedure was going on till late Saturday. The exact figure is going to be released by the election commission on Sunday, the officials said.

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The counting of votes is scheduled on May 2.

The poll percentage is less if compared to the last state assembly elections as the average voting of the last two assembly elections is more than 70%. There are around 320,000 voters in the constituency which is dominated by the Maratha community.

This is the first assembly bypoll after Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government formed a coalition government in 2019 and is being seen as a test of the ruling MVA partners. It is a straight contest between NCP candidate Bhagirath Bhalke and BJP nominee Samadhan Autade.

Bhalke is son of three term MLA Bharat Bhalke who died in November last year while Autade is a former Shiv Sena leader.

BJP made all the efforts to win the seat as to prove a point that there is a discontent against the Uddhav Thackeray led government. NCP too has put all its force and most of the senior leaders led by Ajit Pawar, state chief Jayant Patil, campaigned aggressively for Bhalke. Supriya Sule, Baramati MP and Pawar’s daughter too addressed a rally through video conferencing outside Breach Candy Hospital where the NCP chief Sharad Pawar was recuperating after a gallbladder surgery. State Congress chief Nana Patole too has campaigned for Bhalke but no senior Shiv Sena leader found to have campaigned for the NCP candidate.