Polling commenced on Friday morning across eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra as part of the second phase of the general elections.
The voting, which began at 7 am, encompasses Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, and Yavatmal-Washim in the west Vidarbha region, and Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani in Marathwada, concluding at 6 pm.
A total of 1.49 crore voters, including 77,21,374 men, 72,04,106 women, and 432 from the third-gender category, are eligible to cast their votes across 16,589 polling centers. This phase will determine the fate of 204 candidates vying for the eight seats.
Each constituency has a varying number of candidates, with the highest being 37 in Amravati and the lowest being 15 in Akola. In Buldhana, the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faces a direct contest against Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT).
The Shiv Sena, previously allied with the BJP, is now in a split with Sena (UBT) following Shinde's rebellion in 2022. Notable contests include Buldhana, where Prataprao Jadhav of Shiv Sena competes against Narendra Khedekar of Sena (UBT), and Hingoli, where Rajashtri Patil's husband, replaced by the Shiv Sena, faces Nagesh Patil Ashtikar of Sena (UBT).
Other significant contests feature Prakash Ambedkar of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in Akola and his brother Anandraj Ambedkar in Amravati. Akola witnesses a battle between Anup Dhotre of BJP and Abhay Patil of Congress, with Prakash Ambedkar as the third candidate.
In Amravati, MP Navneet Rana, now contesting as a BJP nominee, competes against Balwant Wankhede of Congress. Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, holds elections in three more phases between May 7 and May 20.
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