Assembly polls: Rain may play spoiler in some parts of Maha

It was a wet and cloudy Monday morning in parts of Maharashtra where voting for the Assembly polls was underway.

Some areas in south Konkan Maharashtra, western and south central parts, and Latur and Osmanabad districts in Marathwada region witnessed drizzle early morning, an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

As voting began at 7 am, Mumbai and its suburbs saw overcast sky after drizzle for last two days.

The IMD has predicted thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Beed and Osmanabad districts on Monday.

Though the MeT department last week announced complete withdrawal of the south-west monsoon, it said the cyclonic circulation developed off the south coast of Maharashtra was bringing rains now.

The state has 8.98 crore eligible voters to decide the fate of 3,237 candidates in fray from 288 seats.

"In the morning, mostly office-goers and businessmen go to polling booths on their own. But, in the later half of the day, parties have to make some extra efforts to urge people to come out to vote," a political observer said.

"It is during later part of the day that the state has been witnessing intense showers in the last few days. If it rains today also during the day, it could lead to a drop in the voter turnout," he said.

The state recorded 63.38 per cent turnout in the 2014 Assembly polls.

"We are closely observing the situation and are hopeful voters will be spared vagaries of weather," a senior election official said.