Massajog sarpanch bypoll records 84% turnout; counting today

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Massajog village in Beed district recorded a high voter turnout of 84% in the much-watched sarpanch bypoll on Tuesday, with vote counting scheduled to begin at 10am on Wednesday at the tehsil office under tight security.The bypoll has attracted wide attention due to the abduction and murder of former sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, which left the post vacant and lent the contest an emotional edge. Deshmukh's wife is contesting the election and is locked in a direct fight against her rival, who had lost the previous sarpanch election by a narrow margin of nine votes.Polling was held on Tuesday as part of the ongoing gram panchayat elections across Beed district. The Massajog bypoll was among 31 seats across 27 gram panchayats where voting took place. Officials said adequate police deployment was in place at Massajog and other polling centres, and the process concluded peacefully, with no untoward incidents.According to official data, 1,744 of the 2,084 registered voters in Massajog exercised their franchise, taking the turnout to 84%. Voters turned up at booths from early morning, and participation remained steady throughout the day, reflecting the high stakes associated with the election.District officials said elections were originally scheduled for 88 gram panchayat seats in Beed. Still, after revisions — due to some panchayats having less than six months of remaining tenure — polls were conducted for 79 seats. Of these, 43 seats, including three sarpanch posts and 40 member positions, were decided unopposed.Despite a large number of uncontested seats in the district, the Massajog bypoll has emerged as one of the most closely followed contests due to its emotional backdrop and straight fight. With polling completed and turnout being strong, villagers are now keenly awaiting the results to know who will take charge as the next sarpanch.
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