Hindustan Times : Oct 24, 2019, 10:03 AM
After becoming the first Maharashtra chief minister in 47 years to complete a full-term in office, it is D-Day for Devendra Fadnavis as counting of votes for 288 assembly are on. Exit polls had earlier predicted a smooth sailing for the BJP-Sena alliance but Fadnavis-led BJP is said to get a majority of its own in this assembly election. The opposition, hit by deluge of desertions, will try to hold on to its bastions.The provisional voter turnout on for October 21 voting was 60.5 per cent, down from the 63.20 per cent recorded in 2014 elections, an official said.The highest voter turnout, of 83.93 per cent, was recorded in the Karveer assembly seat in Kolhapur, while the lowest was in south Mumbai’s upmarket Colaba area at 40.11 per cent.The state also witnessed a Lok Sabha by-poll in the Satara constituency, also held on Monday. The voter turnout was 67.15 per cent, the official said.The by-poll was necessitated after NCP MP Udayanraje Bhosale quit the party and his Lok Sabha seat and joined the ruling BJP, which renominated him from the constituency.If the predictions of exit polls turn out to be accurate, the results of Maharashtra assembly elections will strengthen the BJP’s rise as hegemonic force in politics. This win will also reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity. It will also increase the stature of Devendra Fadnavis amongst the young leaders in the party.