Mumbai (Maharashtra): Voting began for the eight seats in Maharashtra in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. 1.49 crore registered voters from the state will seal the fate of 204 candidates.

Voting started in Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha and Yavatmal-Washim seats in the west Vidarbha region and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in Marathwada across 16,589 polling centres.

Of these seats, Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim and Hingoli will see direct contests between the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT). A total of 1.49 crore eligible voters, including 77,21,374 men, 72,04,106 women, and 432 persons from the third-gender category, are eligible to exercise their franchise in these eight constituencies.

On April 19, five seats in east Vidarbha Nagpur, Ramtek, Chandrapur, Bhandara-Gondia and Gadchiroli-Chimur went to polls, registering a voter turnout of 63.70 per cent.

• 11.36 AM
  A voter turnout of 18.83 per cent was recorded till 11 AM in Maharashtra. 18.35 per cent of voting was recorded in Wardha, while 17.37 per cent of votes were polled in Akola. 17.73 per cent of votes were polled in Amravati while Buldhana recorded a turnout of 17.92 per cent till 11 AM. 18.19 per cent of votes were polled in Hingoli while 20.85 per cent of votes were polled in Nanded. Parbhani saw a turnout of 21.77 per cent till 11 AM, which was the highest in Maharashtra so far. 18.01 per cent of votes were polled in Yavatmal-Washim.
• 11.05 AM
  BJP candidate from Amravati Navnit Ravi Rana lashed out at the former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Rana told reporters, "What else you can expect from a 52-year-old Rahul Gandhi? Someone who talks about taking away the property of women. Congress people even say that our Rahul Gandhi has become mature now, so if takes 52 years for someone to get mature, then I don't have to say anything about that. For a 52-year-old mature like him (Rahul Gandhi), it will take more 50 years to snatch away the gold and property of women..."
• 10.56 AM
  Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan cast his vote at a polling booth in Nanded. He appealed to people to come out and vote in large numbers. "My appeal to the people is to go and vote in large numbers. Contribute to the democratic process and vote because your vote is important in bringing a strong government. All the misunderstandings have been sorted, there is no doubt among the people. Marathas have got a 10% reservation," Chavan, son of former Union Minister Shankarrao Chavan, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
• 10.25 AM
  BJP candidate from Akola Lok Sabha Anup Dhotre cast his vote at a polling station in Palose Badhe village. Anup Dhotre is the son of sitting BJP Sanjay Dhotre and he is taking on Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA) candidates. Akola polled 7.17 per cent votes till 9 AM and despite the scorching heat people came out in large numbers.
• 10.00 AM
  Vanchit Bahujan Aghadhi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar and his wife Anjali Ambedkar exercised their franchise at a polling booth in Akola in Maharashtra. Prakash Ambedkar, who is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, is contesting from the Akola Lok Sabha seat, where BJP has fielded Anup Sanjay Dhotre, who is the son of sitting MP Sanjay Dhotre. Prakash Ambedkar is a two-time MP, having represented Akola.
• 9.30 AM
  A voter turnout of 7.45 per cent was recorded till 9 AM in Maharashtra. 7.18 per cent of voting was recorded in Wardha, while 7.17 per cent of votes were polled in Akola. 6.34 per cent of votes were polled in Amravati while Buldhana recorded a turnout of 6.61 per cent till 9 AM. 7.23 per cent of votes were polled in Hingoli while 7.73 per cent of votes were polled in Nanded. Parbhani saw a turnout of 9.72 per cent till 9 AM, which was the highest in Maharashtra till 9 AM, 7.23 per cent of votes were polled in Yavatmal-Washim.
• 7.30 AM
  Voting was delayed in a polling station at Khamgaon in the Buldhana constituency in Vidarbha. Officials said that voting was delayed in the polling booth number 101 as they were unable to connect the VVPAT. Buldhana will see a contest between the two Shiv Sena's. While Pratap Jadhav is candidate of Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has fielded Narendra Khedkar.
• 7.00 AM
  Voting begins at 7 AM for eight seats in Maharashtra. One of the key contests in the state is Akola, where Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is fighting the polls. The other key battle is Amravati where BJP has fielded Navneet Rana. Congress has fielded Balwant Wankhede against Rana.

Key contests

Of the 204 candidates in the fray, there are 21 in Buldhana, 15 in Akola, 37 in Amravati, 24 in Wardha, 17 in Yavatmal-Washim, 33 in Hingoli, 23 in Nanded, and 34 contestants in Parbhani. The undivided Shiv Sena had contested the last general elections in the state in alliance with the BJP. It split in 2022 after Shinde led a rebellion, sunk the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and sided with the BJP to become the CM.

In Buldhana, sitting Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav faces off with Narendra Khedekar of Sena (UBT). The Shiv Sena has nominated Rajashri Patil in Yavatmal-Washim, dropping sitting MP Bhavana Gawli. Patil is pitted against Sanjay Deshmukh of the Thackeray-led party. In Hingoli, Rajashtri Patil's husband and sitting MP Hemant Patil was replaced by the Shiv Sena, which gave the ticket to Baburao Kohalikar. The Sena nominee is contesting against Nagesh Patil Ashtikar of Sena (UBT).

Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha is contesting against sitting MP Sanjay Jadhav, nominated by the Shiv Sena (UBT). Jankar has been backed by the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising BJP, Shiv Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Dr B R Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar, who heads the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), has fielded candidates in seven seats, including himself from Akola. His brother Anandraj Ambedkar is in the fray in Amravati as a Republican Sena nominee.

In Akola, the contest is between Anup Dhotre of BJP and Abhay Patil of Congress, with Prakash Ambedkar as the third candidate. Amravati will see a fight between sitting MP Navneet Rana, now contesting as a BJP nominee, against Balwant Wankhede of Congress. Dinesh Bub is the Prahar Janshakti Party candidate. The Prahar party, which has two legislators in the assembly, is an ally of the ruling coalition.

Wardha will see a fight between former Congress MLA Amar Kale, contesting on the symbol of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) a man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet) against sitting BJP MP Ramdas Tadas. In Nanded, sitting MP Pratap Chikhalikar of the BJP is up against Congress nominee Vasant Chavan. Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, will vote in five phases between April 19 and May. (With agency inputs)