Avg turnout in Marathwada civic bodies set to cross 45%

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: An average voter turnout of about 45% was recorded till 3.30pm on Thursday in the elections to five municipal corporations in the Marathwada region, with officials expecting the final figures to surpass those of the previous civic polls.According to the official data, Parbhani reported the highest turnout at 49% by 3.30 pm, followed by Jalna with 46%. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Latur each recorded around 44% polling, while Nanded-Waghala registered the lowest turnout at 43%.Polling witnessed fluctuations throughout the day, but by evening long queues of voters were seen outside several polling booths in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, indicating a late surge in voter participation.Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar municipal commissioner and administrator G Sreekanth said the polling process was largely smooth, without major issues."Adequate police bandobast was in place at sensitive and other polling booths in the city. A section of veterans was confused about how to vote due to the practice of a multi-ward system for the first time, and they were guided properly by booth-level staff," he said.Several voters expressed enthusiasm after casting their votes. "Being a first-time voter, I was excited to witness different polling arrangements and was keen to touch the EVM machine to cast my vote. I took a selfie after exercising my franchise to share with my family and friends," Sakshi Gore, a college student, said.Barring sporadic incidents, polling also took place largely smoothly at four other municipal corporations in Marathwada.Election authorities said the counting of votes will begin at 10 am on Friday.