1 day Ago By Sandip Dighe
Pune: The overall voting percentage in 10 assembly constituencies of Pune rural is about 69.5%, improving over the 2019 total of 66%, said district administration officials. Nine assembly segments out of 10 recorded better voting percentage than the previous assembly poll, as per official records.
Only Purandar assembly segment recorded 60.02%, a lower voting turnout by close to 6% than the 2019 figure (65.91%).
For the second consecutive year, Indapur recorded an impressive voting turnout of 76.10%, followed by 73.27% in Daund and 71.
03% in Baramati. Pune district collector Suhas Diwase told TOI, "The overall voter turnout in the rural assembly segments has surpassed last time's figure at 69.5%.
For us, it is a good sign as our efforts to encourage people to cast their votes have got the desired results." He added, "Most importantly, no untoward incident or law and order issue we reported across any segment in the rural sector. People from all walks of life and age groups, including senior citizens, actively voted in rural and remote places this time.
" In the Baramati assembly segment, the overall percentage has increased by 1.03% than the previous turnout. Interestingly, it is a high-octane contest here with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar contesting against nephew Yugendra Pawar.
The outcome in Indapur has generated interest, given that former minister Harshvardhan Patil quit BJP to join NCP (SCP), barely a few weeks before the election. Patil is pitted against traditional rival and NCP's sitting MLA Datta Bharne, who had defeated him in both 2014 and 2019 elections. In Ambegaon, the overall voting has increased by nearly 3% over last time's figure.
NCP senior leader and former state assembly speaker Dilip Walse Patil is pitted against NCP (SCP) candidate Devdatta Nikam. The former speaker will retain the seat for the record eighth term if the poll result goes in his favour. The turnout in Purandar constituency was recorded lower compared to the 2019 percentage, said the officials.
"It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons behind this trend in this segment. Often, the percentage of voting is related to the political equations of the tehsil," said a senior district official. In Bhor, Congress's three-time sitting MLA Sangram Thopte is contesting against NCP's Shankar Mandekar and Independent Kuldip Konde.
Thopte is one of the bright hopes for Congress to retain the family bastion in the triangular fight. In Purandar, sitting Congress MLA Sangram Jagtap is once again pitted against his arch-rival in the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Vijay Shivtare. Jagtap has got full support from the NCP (SCP) unit.
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