Nashik Civic Polls: 14.31% Voting Recorded Till 11:30 AM; Technical Snags Cause Delays | Representative Photo
Nashik: In the voting process for the general elections of Nashik Municipal Corporation, which began at 7.30 am today, 14.31 percent voting has been recorded in the city till 11.30 am. This figure is likely to increase further by 3 pm. In some wards in the morning, due to a technical malfunction in the EVM machine, there was confusion among voters and queues started at the centers. However, the election officials immediately replaced or repaired the machine and made the voting smooth.
In booth number 36 in the Gosavi Wadi area of ward number 21, the voting machine stopped working immediately. After installing another machine in its place, it also stopped working, causing chaos. Voters stood in queues and voting was stopped for some time. Later, the voting started after the technical problems were resolved. Apart from this, incidents of EVM malfunction occurred in other wards as well, but they were dealt with immediately.
On the other hand, Mukesh Shahane, an independent candidate from Group ‘A’ in Ward No. 29, tried to create chaos by alleging that money was being distributed outside the office of BJP candidate Sudhakar Badgujar in Savtanagar. He took a large number of workers and protested outside the office.
However, the police intervened in time and brought the situation under control and a major disaster was averted. Currently, a large police force has been deployed outside Badgujar’s office, and the area has taken on the form of a cantonment. Officers from Ambad Police Station have reached the spot and an investigation is underway.
The voting process will continue till 5.30 pm. The State Election Commission has prepared all the systems and additional police force has been deployed at sensitive centers. Voting is expected to increase after noon. Some voters prefer to vote in the morning. In the 2017 elections, 61.60 percent voter turnout was recorded. This time, the contest is between BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde group), Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar group), Shiv Sena (Uddhav group), Congress, MNS and other parties. The administration has appealed to voters to vote peacefully and enthusiastically.
