Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | No 'surge' in last hour of polling in the state, says top election official

Mumbai: Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has said the seven per cent increase in voter turnout in the last hour of polling for the state assembly elections was not a surge, as claimed by the opposition, but an "average" process.

In a video statement on Monday, Chockaligam said Maharashtra is a large state with more than one lakh polling booths.

"If 76 lakh voters turn up in the last hour of polling, it is only (an average of) 76 voters in each of the polling centres," he added.

The assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were held last month.

While the BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, the JMM-led alliance bagged 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.

''Unlike Jharkhand, Maharashtra votes more in the later half of the day. Whereas in Jharkhand, most of the voting takes place in the first half," Chockalingam said.

Jharkhand is a small state compared to Maharashtra and its voting ends at 5 pm, whereas voting in Maharashtra is allowed till 6 pm and those in queue at that time can cast vote, he noted.

''In Maharashtra, 50 to 60 persons have voted per hour," the state CEO said.

Chockaligam also refuted concerns raised by the opposition parties over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying they are technically reliable and transparent.

Candidates can approach the high court, if they have a doubt, within 10 days of declaration of the result, he added.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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