Mumbai, April 26 (IANS): An estimated 18.83 per cent turnout was recorded till 11 a.m. in eight constituencies of Maharashtra in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
Wardha recorded 18.35 per cent turnout, Akola (17.37 per cent), Amravati (17.73 per cent), Buldhana (17.92 per cent), Hingoli (18.19 per cent), Nanded (20.85 per cent), Parbhani (21.77 per cent) and Yavatmal Washim (18.01 per cent).
A total of 1,49, 25, 912 eligible voters will exercise their voting rights in 16,589 polling stations in these eight constituencies.
In Nanded, the BJP has renominated Pratap Patil Chikhalikar against Congress nominee Vasant Chavan. Chikhalikar had defeated Ashok Chavan who had contested as the Congress nominee in the 2019 elections but during this election, Chavan, who became the Rajya Sabha member after joining BJP, had sought votes for Chikhalikar.
In Akola, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar, who could not agree to a sharing arrangement with Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, is in the fray against BJP nominee Anup Mhatre and Congress candidate Abhay Patil.
In Amaravati, the BJP nominated Navneet Rana, who was elected as an independent in the 2019 elections, against Congress nominee Balwant Wankhede. The Prahar Janashakti Party founder and former minister Bachhu Kadu has fielded his party’s nominee in this constituency.
In Wardha, NCP SP has nominated youth Amara Kale against BJP's two-term MP Ramdas Tadas while in Yavatmal-Washim there is a fight between Shiv Sena nominee Rajashri Patil and Shiv Sena UBT candidate Sanjay Deshmukh.
In Hingoli, the Shiv Sena nominee Baburao Kadam Kohalikar is pitted against Shiv Sena UBT candidate Nagesh Patil Ashitkar. In Parbhani, the NCP led by Ajit Pawar left the seat to MahaYuti ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha founder Mahadev Jankar who faces challenge from the Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee and sitting MP Sanjay Jadhav.
In Buldhana there is a fight between two factions of Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena nominee and sitting MP Prataprao Jadhav is pitted against Shiv Sena UBT candidate Narendra Khedekar.