Voter apathy marks graduates’ constituency polls; oversized ballot papers raise concerns
Out of the 3,26,720 eligible voters across the eight Marathwada districts, 1,91,689 cast their votes, recording a turnout of 58.7%. Dharashiv recorded the highest turnout at 62.5%, with 18,225 of 29,145 voters participating. It was followed by Parbhani at 61.8%, where 16,482 of 26,684 voters cast their ballots, and Hingoli at 61.6%, with 6,352 of 10,315 voters turning out. Jalna and Nanded both recorded a turnout of 59.8%. In Jalna, 19,853 of 33,196 voters exercised their franchise, while in Nanded, 21,942 of 36,687 voters participated. Beed recorded 59.7%, with 34,416 of 57,672 voters casting their votes. Latur recorded a turnout of 56.5%, with 22,412 of 39,703 voters participating. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, which had the highest number of registered voters at 93,318, recorded the lowest turnout at 55.7%, with 52,007 voters casting their ballots. The unusually large ballot papers, necessitated by the presence of 41 candidates, also raised concerns about the voting process.
Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate Pratapsinh Patil questioned the rationale behind their size, alleging that the ballots were getting damaged while being inserted into boxes, which could lead to votes being disqualified. Despite visits by candidates and political leaders, including BJP district president Kishor Shitole, polling remained sluggish at several centres. Some candidates arranged four-wheelers to ferry voters in urban areas and auto rickshaws for those living within five kilometres of polling stations in taluka and semi-urban areas.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Voter apathy marked the Aurangabad division graduates’ constituency election on Friday, with turnout varying across Marathwada’s eight districts.