Maharashtra witnesses 43.98 % polling till 1 PM

An average of 43.98% electorate cast their vote till 3 pm for 19 Lok Sabha seats during the second phase of polling in Maharashtra today with Kolhapur registering the highest at 54% so far.

Kolhapur is followed by Hatkanangale seat where 52.16% voting was registered.

In Kolhapur, the major town in the politically crucial western Maharashtra, the main contestants are NCP's Dhananjay Mahadik and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Mandalik.

In Hatkanangale, also in western Maharashtra which is considered as the stronghold of NCP, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna (SSS) leader Raju Shetty is pitted against Kallappa Awade of Congress and Raghunath Dada Patil of AAP.

SSS is an important constituent of "Mahayuti" (NDA).

The constituency-wise voting percentage till 3 pm is: Hingoli (44.74%), Nanded (44.50%), Parbhani (47.19%), Maval (38.58%), Pune (35.81%), Baramati (42.72%), Shirur (43.85%), Ahmednagar (36.90%), Shirdi (37.42%), Beed (48.32%), Osmanabad (46.12%), Latur (48.65%), Solapur (39.27%), Madha (44.43%), Sangli (46.98%), Satara (41.21%), Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (43.28%).

Prominent among voters who cast their vote so far are Union Home Minister and Congress candidate in Solapur Sushilkumar Shinde and NCP nominee in Pune district's Baramati constituency Supriya Sule, daughter of party chief Sharad Pawar.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who had to quit three years ago over the alleged involvement in the Adarsh Housing scam, cast his vote around 8.30 am at a booth in Shivaji Nagar area of Nanded city. He was accompanied by his wife and other family members.

Social activist Anna Hazare also cast his vote in the morning in his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district.

BJP's Gopinath Munde, who is seeking a second term as MP from Beed, also cast his vote at a booth in Nathra village of Parli tehsil in the district.

Young voters as well as senior citizens were seen lining up enthusiastically since early morning in Pune city which experienced a drizzle in the wee hours.

No untoward incident was reported so far.