The five seats in Maharashtra where polling is being held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections recorded a voter turnout of 19.4 per cent till 11 am, an official said.

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Altogether 97 candidates, including Union minister Nitin Gadkari, are in the fray in Nagpur, Ramtek (SC), Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur and Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST) constituency, all located in eastern-most parts of the state.

These seats have over 95 lakh eligible voters.

Voter turnout stood at 19.72 per cent in Bhandara-Gondia till 11 am, the official said. Chandrapur recorded a turnout of 18.94 per cent, Gadchiroli-Chimur 24.88 per cent, Nagpur 17.53 per cent and Ramtek 16.14 per cent till 11 am, the official said.

The average turnout in the five seats was about 19.4 per cent, he said.

Polling in the 43 other Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in four more phases later this month and in May.

There are 95,54,667 voters in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the Vidarbha region. Of these, 48,28,142 are male, 47,26,178 female and 347 transgender voters, an election official said.

In Nagpur, there is a direct fight between senior BJP leader Gadkari, who is seeking a third term, and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre. The high-profile constituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, has a total of 22,18,259 voters -- 11,10, 840 male, 11,07,197 female and 222 transgender persons.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among the well-known names who cast their votes in Nagpur.

In Chandrapur, BJP candidate and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is facing Congress nominee Pratibha Dhanorkar, wife of late parliamentarian Suresh Dhanorkar, who was the lone MP from the grand old party to be elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra in 2019. Chandrapur has 18,36,314 voters, including 9,45,026 males and 8,91,240 females.

In Bhandara-Gondia, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Sunil Mendhe, who is pitted against Congress candidate Dr Prashant Patole. Bhandara-Gondia has a total of 18,75,106 voters (9,36,041 males, 9,39,056 females and 12 transgenders).

Two-time Lok Sabha MP of BJP, Ashok Nete, is contesting against Congress nominee Dr Namdev Kirsan in Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), where some areas are affected by Naxal insurgency. The constituency has 16,12,930 voters (8,11,836 males, 8,01,082 females and 12 transgenders).

In Ramtek, the fight is between Shyamkumar Barwe of the Congress and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's candidate Raju Parwe. The constituency has a total of 20,45,717 voters (10,43,266 males, 10,02,396 females and 55 transgenders).

Five assembly segments, spread across two Lok Sabha seats, including Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur, are voting between 7 am and 3 pm, unlike other areas where voters can exercise their franchise until 6 pm.

In the assembly segments of Amgaon, Armori, Gadchiroli and Aheri of Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency and Arjune Morgaon in Bhandara-Gondia seat, polling is being held between 7 am and 3 pm, the official said.