Over 12 per cent voting reported in Maharashtra till noon

Polling is in progress for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. 

In Maharashtra, over 12 per cent voting was reported till noon. 7 to 9 per cent polling was recorded in Mumbai in the first two hours of voting which began at 7 am. Polling is on for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cast his vote at a polling booth in West Nagpur and urged people to participate in, what he called, the festival of democracy. Fadnavis along with his wife  Amruta Fadnavis and mother went to a polling booth set up at a school in Dharampeth area where all of them voted.

Fadnavis is seeking a fifth term as MLA from Nagpur South West Assembly constituency. Congress has fielded Dr. Ashish Deshmukh as his main opponent.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit , RSS Chief Dr. Mohan Bhagwat also voted in their respective constituencies in Nagpur.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar exercised his



right to franchise at Tardeo in Mumbai. BJP leader and State Minister Ashish Shelar, party leader Parag Alavni, Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Vaikar and celebrities such as actor Aamir Khan, his wife Kiran Rao, actor-director Kunal Kohli, veteran actress Shubha Khote were among the early morning voters in the city. Despite light showers, senior citizens and fitness enthusiasts as well as first time voters were seen outside polling stations early in the morning in Mumbai. 

In Haryana, 22.40 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 11:45 AM. Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal cast his vote at Government Higher Secondary School, Prem Nagar of Karnal Assembly constituency. He reached polling booth No, 134 by bicycle, saying he wanted give a message to people to protect environment. Interacting with media after voting, he expressed confidence that BJP would form government again in the state. 

Counting of votes in both the states will be taken up on October 24.