Pune: Voter turnout in the elections to 12 zilla parishads and 125 panchayat samitis across Maharashtra on Saturday is expected to touch 65%, state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare told TOI. “Until 3.30pm, the overall figure stood at 52%. As voting continued beyond the scheduled hours in several rural pockets, the final turnout is bound to reach 65%,” Waghmare said, adding among the 12 districts, Kolhapur may even cross 70%.By 5.30pm, Pune district recorded an estimated overall turnout of 68.89%, with Velhe taluka leading at 79.3% and Baramati at 54.9%, data shared by collector Jitendra Dudi shows. Five talukas — Velhe, Maval, Shirur, Bhor and Khed — crossed 75% polling, while eight out of 13 talukas recorded over 65% turnout. Rural talukas demonstrated higher voter participation compared to semi-urban areas. Data compiled until 3.30pm showed Kolhapur district leading with 58.81% turnout across 12 talukas, followed by Raigad at 57.77%. Parbhani recorded 55.71%, while Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar registered 51.52%. Sangli posted 51.47%, Satara 51.02% and Pune 51% polling. Sindhudurg recorded 50.1%, Dharashiv 50.07% and Latur 50.05%, while Ratnagiri logged 47.38%. Solapur recorded the lowest turnout at 47.66%.The turnout in the recently conducted municipal council elections was around 68%, while it was 55% at the 29 municipal corporation polls.Waghmare said polling remained largely peaceful across the state, with no major disruptions reported. “The highest number of EVM replacements — 40 machines — was reported from Ratnagiri district. Reasons for failed EVMs were clock and link errors. Those will be inspected after counting and appropriate action will be taken to find out the root cause of failures,” he said.The zilla parishad polls, being held under the shadow of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s death in an air crash last month, are being seen as a litmus test for the NCP factions, which are contesting in an alliance in their strongholds in western Maharashtra. Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar and NCP (SP) politicians Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar were among the early voters as polling began at 7.30am.More than 2.08 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. The districts that went to the polls are Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur.The state election commission (SEC) announced the polls on Jan 13, with the Supreme Court granting a two-week extension beyond Jan 31. Following the death of Ajit Pawar on Jan 28, the state govt declared mourning from Jan 28 to 30, leading SEC to postpone polling from Feb 5 to Feb 7.After the declaration of results, the model code of conduct will be lifted and the names of elected members will be published in the govt gazette by Feb 11, SEC said. In Marathwada, polling in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur districts was largely peaceful, barring sporadic EVM-related issues, officials said. Latur registered around 63.5% turnout by the end of the day, while Parbhani and Dharashiv recorded nearly 56% and 50%, respectively, until 3.30 pm. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar reported 35% polling until 1.30 pm, official data showed. By the end of the day (5.30pm), the estimated turnout in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Kolhapur and Solapur was 65%, 74.35% and 67.18% respectively, district administration officials said and added the final figures were awaited. As many as 125 talukas went to the polls for 731 zilla parishad seats and 1,462 panchayat samiti seats across the 12 districts. Officials said the use of traditional bottled indelible ink instead of marker pens proceeded smoothly without complaints.Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary bookedJaywant Vaydande, a Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary from Bhudargad tehsil in Kolhapur district, was booked for allegedly breaking an EVM at Nadhawde polling booth on Saturday morning. Police said he claimed he damaged the machine to protest against EVMs and to demand a return to ballot paper voting.Tension in Pandharpur, TasgaonAt Karkamb village in Pandharpur, NCP and BJP workers clashed, leading to a temporary halt in polling until additional police forces arrived. In Tasgaon’s Chinchani village, supporters of NCP (SP) and NCP came face to face, though a major clash was averted after police intervention.
