Mumbai: Palghar witnessed 46.5 per cent voting in the byelection for the Lok Sabha seat on Monday, whereas Bhandara-Gondia saw 42 per cent voting, as per preliminary Election Commission (EC) figures. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and BVA (Bahujan Vikas Aghadi), each, claimed that victory was theirs in Palghar. Whereas the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and BJP claimed that Bhandara-Gondia was theirs. Counting will take place on Thursday. During the Lok Sabha polls of 2014, voting in Palghar was 62.9 per cent while Bhandara-Gondia had recorded 65.43 per cent.
Since it is the summer season, it was expected that voting would pick up pace in the morning. But faulty Electronic voting machines (EVMs) greatly reduced enthusiasm. NCP leader and former union minister Praful Patel cast his vote along with his wife Varsha Patel in Gondia. Former MP Nana Patole cast his vote with family. In Palghar, Sena candidate Shrinivas Vanaga went to the polling booth with his mother. BVA chief Hitendra Thakur cast his vote with his wife and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) son, Kshitij Thakur. BJP’s candidate in Palghar, Rajendra Gavit, too, exercised his franchise in Palghar.
“Although the BJP is using illegal means to win the seat, we are sure that BVA will win this election,” said Mr Thakur after casting his vote. Praful Patel, too, alleged that BJP was misusing its power.
In the evening, BJP state president Raosaheb Danve claimed that the party had won both seats.
Final count
The voting percentage has gone down in both Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia constituencies. In 2014, Bhandara Gondia had witnessed 65.43 per cent voting. This has gone down substantially in byelection. This time it is 42 per cent which is almost 23 percent down than the earlier one. In Palghar, 62.90 per cent voting was there in 2014 general election. But it has reduced to 46.50 per cent in this by election. This has also gone down by around 16 percent. Bhandara voting is much lesser than expected in political circles.
