Mumbai (Maharashtra) / Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], November 20 : A voter turnout of 18.14 per cent was recorded till 11 am in the single-phase assembly elections in Maharashtra while Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 31.37 per cent by the same time in the second phase of assembly polls, according to the Election Commission of India.
Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra recorded the highest voter turnout of 30.00 per cent, while the district of Nanded recorded the lowest voter turnout of 13.67 per cent till 11 am, as per the data of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
According to the poll body's figures, Mumbai city recorded a voter turnout of 15.78 per cent, Mumbai Suburban 17.99 per cent, Nagpur 18.90 per cent, Thane 16.63 per cent, Aurangabad 17.45 per cent, Pune 15.64 per cent, Nashik 18.71 per cent, Satara 18.72 per cent, Kolhapur 20.59 per cent, Dhule 20.11 per cent, Palghar 19.40 per cent, Ratnagiri 22.93 per cent and Latur 18.55 per cent.
Voter turnout for Sindhudurg was recorded at 20.91 per cent, Wardha at 18.86 per cent, Osmanabad at 17.07 per cent, Washim at 16.22 per cent, Yavatmal at 19.38 per cent, Solapur at 15.64 per cent, Sangli at 18.55 per cent, Ahmednagar at 18.24 per cent, Akola at 16.35 per cent, Amravati at 17.45 per cent, Beed at 17.41 per cent, Bhandara at 19.44 per cent, Buldhana at 19.23 per cent, Chandrapur at 21.50 per cent, Gondiya at 23.32 per cent, Hingoli at 19.20 per cent, Jalna at 21.29 per cent, Nandurbar at 21.60 per cent, Parbhani at 18.49 per cent and Raigad at 20.40 per cent.
In the second phase of assembly polls, Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 31.37 per cent till 11 am, with Pakur district with highest turnout of 35.15 per cent while Bokaro with lowest turnout of 27.72 per cent.
As per the ECI, Deoghar recorded a turnout of 32.84 per cent, Dhanbad 28.02 per cent, Dumka 33.05 per cent, Giridih 31.56 per cent, Hazaribagh 31.04 per cent, Jamtara 33.78 per cent, Ramgarh 33.45 per cent, Ranchi 34.75 per cent and Sahebganj 30.90 per cent.
The voter turnout for the Nanded Parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra was recorded at 12.59 per cent till 11 am.
As by-polls are also underway on several seats, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand recorded a turnout of 17.69 per cent while Palakkad in Kerala recorded 24.95 per cent turnout till 11 am.
In the bye-elections of Punjab, as of 11 am, a voter turnout for Gidderbaha was recorded at 20.91 per cent, Dera Baba Nanak at 25.50 per cent, Barnala at 16.30 per cent and Chabbewal at 12.71 per cent.
As of 11 am, in Uttar Pradesh by-polls, Meerapur recorded a voter turnout of 26.18 percent, Majhwan 20.41 per cent, Khair 19.18 per cent, Phulpur 17.68 per cent, Kundarki 28.54 per cent, Karhal 20.71 per cent, Katehari 24.28 per cent, Ghaziabad 12.87 per cent and Sishmau 15.91 per cent.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday cast his vote at a polling booth in Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Thane in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections that began this morning.
After voting, the incumbent Chief Minister, along with his family, showed his inked finger to the media. Shinde, who became the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra after leading a rebellion against Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, is a four-time elected MLA from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also urged people to vote in large numbers, underlining the importance of voting in a democracy. He said, "The biggest festival of democracy is ongoing. Along with my family, I have cast my vote. I urge everyone to vote in large numbers because voting is not just our right but also our responsibility. We elect a Govt in democracy and hold expectations from them. So, voting is important."
Fadnavis, along with his wife Amruta and mother Sarita cast their votes at a booth in Nagpur.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), under the leadership of the BJP, is certain to win in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to vote in large numbers for the assembly elections.
Voting began at 7 am on Wednesday for the single-phase on288 seats of Maharashtra assembly elections and second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections, covering the remaining 38 seats.