Maharashtra has recorded 65.11 per cent voting during the Assembly election which is for the first time in the last 30 years. The state had recorded 71.69 per cent polling in the 1995 elections when the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance formed the government after the Congress party under the leadership of former chief minister Sharad Pawar refused to take the reins despite emerging as the single largest party by winning 80 seats.

As far as the Election Commission and the office of the Chief Electoral Officer are concerned, they heaved a sigh of relief as their efforts to boost the polling percentage have yielded positive results when compared with 61.39 per cent turnout during the general elections held in May and 61.44 per cent in the 2019 assembly elections.

Compared to the previous elections, the voter turnout has increased by 3.7 per cent. The surge in voting percentage is also attributed to the increase in the number of total voters which was reported at 9.70 crore against 8.94 crore during the 2019 Assembly elections, a rise of 8.50 per cent.

The increase in turnout by first-time voters was also visible across the state. In the case of Mumbai, of the 1.02 crore voters 1,68,422 voters come in the 18-19 years age category and are registered as first-time voters. The extensive awareness campaign carried out by the state election machinery and the non-government organisations helped to lure first-time voters.

Similarly, women voters especially from rural areas and towns queue up for voting. This was attributed to the MahaYuti government’s ambitious Ladki Bahin Yojana. Nearly 2.36 crore eligible women beneficiaries have already received financial aid of Rs 7,500 for five months since July.

In Solapur district, of the total 38.48 lakh voters, 21.97 lakh voters cast their votes with a turnout of 57.09 per cent. However, women’s turnout was higher at 66.23 per cent compared to 62.50 per cent of male voters.

According to the Election Commission’s compilation, Maharashtra had reported 60.36 per cent voters turnout in 1962, 64.84 per cent in 1967, 60.63 per cent in 1972, 67.59 per cent in 1978, 53.2 per cent in 1980, 59.17 per cent in 1985, 62.26 per cent in 1990, 71.69 per cent in 1995, 60.95 per cent in 1999, 63.44 per cent in 204, 59.68 per cent in 2009, 63.38 per cent in 2014 and 61.44 per cent in 2019.

Although the Election Commission has uploaded 65.11 per cent voting percentage as of 11.30 pm on November 20, it is expected to release the final numbers of the voters turnout by 11 pm tonight.

However, some discouragement was seen in urban areas of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Pune and Nagpur where the turnout was 52.07 per cent, 55.77 per cent, 56.05 per cent, 60.70 per cent and 60.49 per cent respectively against 65.11 per cent at the state level.

(IANS)