Maha polls: 5.79% voter turnout

Maharashtra has recorded an average of around 5.79 per cent voter turnout till 10 a.m. for the polls to the 288 Assembly seats.

As in the past, the tribal areas of Thane, Palghar and Nandurbar recorded over 6 per cent voter turnout and in most other parts of the state, especially the urban areas, it was around 5 per cent.

In the state capital, Mumbai, the voting percentage was around 7.20 while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' hometown Nagpur was at 2.04 per cent till 9 a.m.

Apparently alarmed by the low turnout, celebrities, political leaders appealed to people to step out and take part in the voting, with similar messages flooding social media and volunteers going door-to-door to bring out the voters in some areas.

Among those who appealed to the masses included RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Supriya Sule, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant and others.

Election Commission officials are optimistic that the slow start may have been due to the rain in many parts of the state, including Mumbai and the voting would pick up subsequently.IANS