Nagpur records nearly 55% voter turnout till 5 pm, Nitin Gadkari seeks hat-trick victory

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A voter turnout of 54.85% was recorded till 5 pm in the five Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the first phase of the general elections on Friday, an official said. The turnout stood at 64.95% in Gadchiroli-Chimur till 5 pm, followed by Bhandara-Gondia at 56.87%, Chandrapur at 55.11%, Nagpur at 47.91% and Ramtek at 52.38%.

#WATCH | Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis cast their votes at a polling booth in Nagpur #LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/QPd38tla4A

— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2024

“Festival of democracy has started. I appeal to all the people to vote and strengthen democracy and register their participation in this festival of democracy,” Fadnavis said outside the polling booth.

Maharashtra will see a five-phase election with polling on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. During the 2019 polls, the Nagpur seat witnessed a total voter turnout of 54.94%.

In the Nagpur parliamentary constituency, the incumbent Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, faces a challenge from the Indian National Congress’ Vikas Thakre.

Nitin Gadkari is aiming for a hat-trick from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, after winning it in the 2014 and 2019 polls. Back then, he defeated seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. He retained the seat in the 2019 elections, defeating current Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole by 2.16 lakh votes.

Gadkari’s opponent from the Congress Party, Vikas Thakre is the incumbent MLA from Nagpur West and president of the Nagpur District Congress Committee.

The Nagpur seat comprises six Vidhan Sabha segments, four of which are currently held by the BJP and the remaining two by the Congress. It has a total of 22,18,259 voters, which includes 11,10,840 males, 11,07,197 females and 222 third-gender persons.

It is the largest city in the Vidarbha region, and for the BJP, it has a great symbolic value as its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has its headquarters here.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow