Despite the scorching April sun, voters in north Maharashtra came out in good numbers to cast their votes. On Thursday, the temperature in the region was touching 42 degrees Celsius.
In Nandurbar, the 62 per cent votes were registered. While the percentage of voting in Dhule was 61, Nashik saw 60 per cent turnout, Dindori 64. Jalgaon 56 and Raver 58.
Initially, the voting percentage was quite low in Jalgaon. But Shivdas Patil, 56, a resident of Jalgaon told dna that people this time were enthusiastic about exercising their franchise. "Initially, due to the scorching heat, people did not come out. But in the second half, voters queued up in large numbers. It is good for a healthy democracy. People should actively participate in the electoral process," said Patil.
Political observer Ashok Pawar said that people were fed up with the incumbent government led by the Congress. "Change can happen only by casting votes. Therefore, without worrying about the high temperature, people came out in large numbers to cast their votes. The uniqueness of this election is that the youth participated actively. The youth brought their parents along with them to polling booths to cast their votes. That could be the main reason for the rising percentage of voting," he said.
Shiv Sena MLA from Dhule Sharad Patil said the high percentage of voting is the result of people's anger against the government's wrong policies and inflation. "The common man could not afford to live the life now.
The expenses have been increased manyfold. People want change and they hope that a new government can reduce their expenses and give them the much-needed relief. The high percentage of voting will help the Shiv Sena-BJP combine's candidates," said Patil.
Ranjeet Shinde, an NCP leader from Jalgaon, said the high turnout is due to the awareness among voters. "It will not be right to say that people had voted against the incumbent government and the percentage of tournout will help BJP and Shiv Sena. In fact, it will be the other way around. This will help the Congress-NCP," said Shinde.
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