Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 15.93 voter turnout till 11 AM in Maharashtra; CM Shinde, Uddhav, Raj Thackeray cast vote in Phase 5 polling

15.93 pc turnout till 11 am in Maharashtra; CM Shinde, Uddhav, Raj Thackeray cast vote (Eds: Adds latest info, photos) Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) A voter turnout of 15.93 per cent was recorded till 11 am on Monday in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra as voting was underway for the fifth and final phase of general elections in the state, as per poll authorities.

Among the 13 constituencies, Bhiwandi recorded 14.79 per cent polling, Dhule 17.38 per cent, Dindori 19.50 per cent, Kalyan 11.46 per cent, Mumbai North 14.71 per cent, Mumbai North Central 15.73 per cent, Mumbai North East 17.01 per cent, Mumbai North West 17.53 per cent, Mumbai South 12.75 per cent, Mumbai South Central 16.69 per cent, Nashik 16.30 per cent, Palghar 18.60 per cent and Thane 14.86 per cent.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde voted along with his family members at a booth in Thane, which is his political turf.

Shinde told reporters that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is the stronghold of the Shiv Sena-BJP where the ruling alliance will win all the 10 seats - six in Mumbai, three in Thane district and the Palghar seat.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former CM Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi Thackeray exercised their franchise at a polling booth in Bandra area of Mumbai.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and his wife Sharmila Thackeray voted at a booth in Mumbai's Dadar area.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora exercised his franchise at a polling booth in south Mumbai.

Polling booths in many parts of Mumbai saw a good turnout, with prominent persons including Union minister Piyush Goyal, industrialist Anil Ambani and actor Akshay Kumar exercising their franchise in the early hours of voting.

The early voters also included Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik, actor Janhvi Kapoor, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and Marathi theatre actor Prashant Damle.

Film personalities Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor, Ashok Saraf, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar also cast their votes in Mumbai.

Voters queued up in large numbers at the polling booths before 7 am with some saying they wanted to avoid the heat later in the day.

In Thane city, there was malfunctioning of EVMs at a couple of booths, but the problem was rectified promptly, district poll officials said.

A voter in Mumbai's Vile Parle area said, "I decided to vote early to avoid the heat." "I wanted to vote and then leave for work," another elector said.

A voter in Bhandup suburb of Mumbai claimed the enthusiasm among electors shows they want a change.

Shiv Sena's candidate from Mumbai North West seat Ravindra Waikar, Shiv Sena's Mumbai South Central seat nominee Rahul Shewale and his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anil Desai cast their votes early in the morning.

BJP's Mumbai North East seat nominee Mihir Kotecha, its Bhiwandi constituency candidate Kapil Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) Mumbai South seat candidate Arvind Sawant were also among the early voters.

Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Nashik Rajabhau Waje also exercised his franchise in the early voting hours.