18.39% voting in Maharashtra (11 a.m.)

Maharashtra voting picked up with a turnout of a modest 18.39 per cent till 11 a.m. for the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the fourth phase of polling on Monday, an Election Commission official said.

The tribal areas of Nandurbar (ST) constituency notched the highest -- 24.59 per cent, while Kalyan in Thane district lagged as the lowest at 13.91 per cent.

All other constituencies recorded roughly between 15-17 per cent voting.

In Mumbai's six seats, the highest voting was 19.46 per cent in Mumbai North, where Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gopal Shetty, and the lowest was in Mumbai South at 15.51 per cent where former Union Minister Milind M. Deora is contesting against Shiv Sena's Arvind G. Sawant.

High temperatures coupled with extreme humidity especially in coastal constituencies are said to be factors for the poor turnout, alarming all political parties.

The constituencies where voting is on are: Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, Mumbai South, Nandurbar, Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Maval, Shirur and Shirdi.

--IANS

qn/mag/