Lok Sabha elections 2019: Maval at 59.49% and Shirur at 59.46% show Pune how its done

In Maval, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew Parth was contesting against Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne; while in Shirur three-time Sena member of Parliament (MP) Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil was seeking re-election contesting against Marathi actor and NCP nominee Dr Amol Kolhe.

Apart from the rising mercury, high voter turnout from the two semi-urban Parliamentary constituencies, Shirur and Maval, also turned up the poll heat in Pune district.

On Monday, when the mercury was at 40.2 degrees Celsius, voter turnout at Maval was 59.49 %, while for Shirur it was 59.46%, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

On Monday, when the mercury was at 40.2 degrees Celsius, voter turnout at Maval was 59.49 %, while for Shirur it was 59.46%, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

However, both the constituencies could not cross the 2014 mark as Maval had recorded 60.16% polling and Shirur saw 59.77% polling that year. The final polling figures will, however, be available only by Tuesday, said EC officials.

Fierce battle between the candidates resulted in a better turnout in the both constituencies, according to experts. In Maval, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew Parth was contesting against Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne; while in Shirur three-time Sena member of Parliament (MP) Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil was seeking re-election contesting against Marathi actor and NCP nominee Dr Amol Kolhe.

After the polls were over, both the NCP and Sena candidates claimed victory.

“The entire polling was free of any untoward incident. There was no complaint of missing names in the electoral list. We had to replace 30 to 35 electronic voting machines (EVMs) due to technical glitches,” said Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram.

In the Pune Lok Sabha seat, where the polls were held on April 23, voter turnout was 49.84%.

Besides, Maval and Shirur, another seat from western Maharashtra region which went to polls was Shirdi, where former leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil’s stakes were high after his son Sujay switched sides and contested the polls from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Ahmednagar seat. The move had prompted Vikhe-Patil to campaign for the Sena nominee from Shirdi Sadashiv Lokhande who is locked in a battle against Congress nominee Bhausaheb Kamble.

Shirdi witnessed 56.10 per cent polling (till 5 pm) during Monday’s elections.