7.8% polling after 5pm not a surge, equals avg turnout: CEO data | India News – Times of India

MUMBAI: While the opposition has alleged major discrepancies in Maharashtra election, raising questions over the 7.8% polling after 5pm, latest data from state chief electoral office shows there was no dramatic surge, reports Priyanka Kakodkar. The polling was slow initially as only 6.6% voted in the first two hours. Then 11.5% of the registered electors voted between 9 and 11am and 14% between 11am and 1pm. Then another 13.3% voted between 1 and 3pm. So, the 7.8% polling from 5pm till the end of the polling – voting continues after the 6pm deadline because the last person who is standing in the queue till that time is allowed to vote.
“The percentage increase in voting after 5pm is in tune with the progress of voting during the day. There is no surge,” state chief electoral officer S Chockalingam told TOI. “It is a normal growth. If we compare it with the 2019 assembly elections and even with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the trend is similar,” said Chockalingam. “The numbers are as per the historical trend and as per the day’s trend,” he added.
Explaining lower discrepancies with Jharkhand voting data till the end of polling, Chockalingam said, “In Jharkhand, polling is up to 5pm while in Maharashtra, it is up to 6pm. In Jharkhand, people rise early and prefer to vote early in the day. In Maharashtra, due to higher urbanisation, people tend to vote in the latter part of the day.”