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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 LIVE: State Records 18.14% Voter Turnout Till 11 AM; Shinde, Fadnavis Cast Vote

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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 LIVE: State Records 18.14% Voter Turnout Till 11 AM; Shinde, Fadnavis Cast Vote

Mumbai: Voting began in 288 seats for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 on Wednesday morning, sounding the bugle for an intense electoral battle between the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The Mahayuti comprises of parties such as the BJP, NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises of Congress, NCP-SP led by Sharad Pawar and the Shiv Sena UBT led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) 81, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) 59. Meanwhile, Congress has fielded candidates in 101 constituencies, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 86. BSP has also entered the fray, contesting 237 seats. The state has a huge voter base of approximately 9.7 crore.

At 11:40 AM

Maharashtra Voter Turnout As Of 11 AM

Maharashtra– 18.14%
Mumbai City – 15.78%
Mumbai Suburban – 17.99%

At 11:25 AM

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Casts His Vote

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde cast his vote at a polling booth in Thane for Maharashtra Elections 2024.

At 11:00 AM

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis Cast His Vote Along With Family

Maharashtra Congress Chief Nana Patole and party candidate from Mumbai’s Mumbadevi seat, Amin Patel cast their votes for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.

At 10:30 AM

Sharad Pawar Defends Supriya Sule On ‘Bitcoin Scam’ Allegations

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) chief and veteran leader Sharad Pawar has defended Supriya Sule over allegations of ‘bicoin scam’ against her.

“The person who made the allegations was in jail for several months and taking that person along and making false allegations, only BJP can do this,” said Pawar.

Former IPS officer ravindra Patil has accused Sule of ‘bitcoin scam’. The allegation is being played up by leaders from the Mahayuti.

At 10:20 AM

Union Minister Piyush Goyal Casts Vote

Union minister Piyush Goyal exercised his franchise in Mumbai along with his family.

At 9:50 AM

Actor couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza cast their votes in Latur. Riteish Deshmukh is son of former Maharashtra CM Late Vilasrao Deshmukh. Riteish’s brothers Amit Deshmukh and Dhiraj Deshmukh are active in politics.

At 9:35 AM

Maharashtra Voter Turnout As Of 9 AM

Maharashtra– 6.61%
Mumbai City – 6.25%
Mumbai Suburban – 7.88%

At 9:20 AM

Sharad Pawar Casts His Vote

NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar cast his vote at a polling station in Baramati for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.

At 9:00 AM

Nawab Malik Casts Vote In Mumbai, Urges People To Step Out & Vote

NCP leader and candidate from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Nawab Malik cast his vote today morning. Malik then urged people to step out and vote saying, “I exercised my franchise today. My family is also voting. I urge people to step out of their houses in large numbers and vote, and elect an MLA of their choice.”

NCP (SP) candidate from Baramati constituency Yugendra Pawar cast his vote earlier today morning.

At 8:55 AM

Sachin Tendulkar Casts Vote In Mumbai

Former Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, his wife and their daughter cast their votes at a polling station in Mumbai

At 8:30 AM

NCP candidate from Vandre East constituency Zeeshan Siddiqui cast his vote in Mumbai.

Supriya Sule Casts Vote With Family

NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule along with her family showed their inked fingers after casting a vote for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024. NCP has fielded Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and NCP-SCP has fielded Yugendra Pawar from the Baramati Assembly constituency.

At 8:25 AM

Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Casts His Vote In Colaba

Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, S. Chockalingam cast his vote for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, at the polling booth in Sachivalay Gymkhana, under Colaba constituency.

At 8:15 AM

Shiv Sena’s Shaina NC Casts Her Vote In Mumbai

Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbadevi seat, Shaina NC and her daughter Shanaya Munot showed their inked fingers after casting their votes for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.

She then urged Mumbaikars to vote and said, “I want to appeal to my Mumbaikars to come out and cast their votes. You can raise if you cast your votes, you can criticise if you cast your votes. I have the blessings of Maa Mumba Devi. I hope people will give me a chance to work for the truth with full accountability and transparency…”

At 8:00AM

BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani Casts His Vote

BMC Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani showed his inked finger after casting his vote for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.

At 7:55 AM

Actor Akshay Kumar Casts His Vote In Mumbai

Actor Akshay Kumar cast his vote at a polling station in Mumbai earlier today. He also praised the arrangements at the polling station and urged everyone to vote. “The best thing is that the arrangements are very good. I can see that arrangements for senior citizens are very good and cleanliness has been maintained. Everyone should come and vote because that is the most important thing,” said Kumar.

At 7:50 AM

Mumbai Suburban Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar Casts His Vote

Mumbai Suburban Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar cast his vote today morning. After casting his vote, Kshirsagar said, “I have cast my vote, and I appeal to everyone to vote as well. Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra”

At 7:35 AM

PM Modi Urges Voters To Participate In Polling With Full Enthusiasm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged voters in Maharashtra to participate in the polls with full enthusiasm and enhance the splendour of the festival of democracy.

In a post on X, he appealed to the women and young voters to poll in large numbers.

At 7:30 AM

AJit Pawar Hopes People Of Baramati Will Make Him Victorious

Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP candidate from Baramati Assembly constituency Ajit Pawar cast his vote today morning. While speaking to the media outside the polling booth, Pawar said, “Even during Lok Sabha, members of our family were contesting against each other and everyone has seen that. I tried to meet everyone in Baramati. I am hopeful that this time the people of Baramati will make me victorious…”

When asked about money distribution allegations against Vinod Tawde, he said, “The people of Baramati will think about it…”

At 7:25 AM

Mumbai BJP president and candidate from Bandra West assembly constituency, Ashish Shelar cast his vote at a polling station in St. Stanislaus High School of Bandra in Mumbai.

At 7:15 AM

Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan Casts His Vote

Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan cast his vote at the polling booth at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, under Colaba Assembly constituency.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Casts Vote In Nagpur

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat showed his inked finger after casting his vote at a polling booth in Nagpur for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.

Maharashtra

Mumbaikars Brace For Another Gridlock! Elphinstone Bridge Connecting Parel & Prabhadevi To Be Shut For 2 Years Starting Feb 2025

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Mumbai: South Central Mumbai is set to experience major traffic congestion as the Elphinstone Road overbridge (ROB), a crucial link between Parel and Prabhadevi over the Central and Western Railway tracks, will be closed for two years. The closure of this crucial bridge will be starting from February 2025, as per reports. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to dismantle and reconstruct the bridge as part of the Sewri-Worli Connector project.

Details On The New Bridge

The new Elphinstone bridge will be a double-decker flyover, enhancing connectivity between Senapati Bapat Road and Dr BR Ambedkar Road. Additionally, an arm of the bridge will offer direct links to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) at Sewri and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link at Worli. The redevelopment aims to improve traffic flow in the long run, but the temporary closure is expected to cause major disruptions.

Initially, the MMRDA considered constructing an underground passage beneath the Parel-Prabhadevi railway tracks to avoid delays in obtaining railway approvals. However, this plan was ultimately scrapped.

Sion Bridge Already Closed, Adding to Woes

Elphinstone bridge will be the fifth British-era bridge in Mumbai to be shut down, following the closures of the Sion ROB, Carnac Bridge, Bellasis Bridge and Reay Road Bridge. The shutdown of these bridges has already led to severe traffic congestion in various parts of the city.

Alternate Travel Options For Commuters

With Elphinstone Bridge out of service, vehicular traffic will be diverted to Tilak Bridge (Dadar) and Currey Road Bridge. However, both these routes are already heavily burdened and the additional load is expected to worsen peak-hour congestion, leading to longer commute times for Mumbaikars.

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Crime

Mumbai: Crime Branch To Probe Financial Dealings Of DK Rao In Hotel Extortion Case

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch is set to investigate the financial transactions of D.K. Rao, a close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan, for allegedly accepting money from other accused in exchange for mediating in a hotel extortion case.

Additionally, WhatsApp voice notes found on the mobile phone of arrested accused Abubakar Siddiqui are being examined, and forensic analysis of voice samples from D.K. Rao and other accused will be conducted. Senior officials have confirmed the development.

The Crime Branch had arrested D.K. Rao (53), Abubakar Abdullah Siddiqui (37), Imran Kaleem Shaikh (31), Riyaz Kaleem Shaikh (40), Asif Sattan Khan alias Saif Darbar (36), Javed Jalaluddin Khan (35), and Hanif Ismail Naik alias Annu Bhai (53) on January 23 for allegedly demanding ₹2.5 crore extortion from a 74-year-old hotelier.

A case has been registered against them under Various sections of BNS, D.K. Rao, a known enforcer for Chhota Rajan, has a criminal record with 42 serious cases including extortion, murder, kidnapping, and robbery.

Investigators suspect that D.K. Rao was financially compensated by the accused for facilitating the extortion attempt. To verify this, the Crime Branch will scrutinize his financial transactions.

Moreover, WhatsApp voice notes recovered from Abubakar Siddiqui’s mobile suggest discussions between the accused regarding the takeover of the hotel. To establish evidence, the voice samples of D.K. Rao and other accused will be collected and matched with the voice recordings found in the case.

The entire conspiracy was orchestrated to illegally seize the hotel of the senior businessman. D.K. Rao allegedly issued death threats to the complainant and demanded ₹2.5 crore in extortion. The Crime Branch is conducting further investigations to gather more evidence in the case. All accused again remanded Police custody till February 1.

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Education

Don’t entertain hate-filled demands of burqa ban, SP MLA Rais Shaikh writes CM and Dy CMs, Edu Minister

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Mumbai: A day after BJP Minister Nitesh Rane demanded a ban on the burqa in schools during exams, Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Rais Shaikh on Thursday wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, urging them not to entertain such regressive demands, which target only the Muslim community and could deprive Muslim students of their education.

In his letter to Fadnavis, Shinde, Pawar and Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse, Shaikh stated that for Muslims, wearing the burqa or headscarf is an act of worship. “The Preamble to the Constitution guarantees an individual’s liberty of faith and worship. Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion,” said Rais Shaikh, SP MLA.

Shaikh further argued that the demand to ban the burqa or headscarf in schools under the guise of exam regulations is nothing but an interference with religion. “This demand is unconstitutional and will not withstand any legal scrutiny. It targets the Muslim community at large, aiming to deprive minority students of their education. Entertaining such demands would only increase polarisation in the education sector,” Shaikh added.

Highlighting the government’s initiatives such as Ladki Bahin, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, and women empowerment, Shaikh said, “While the government launches multiple initiatives to empower women, it now needs to walk the talk and not bow down to such hate-filled demands. This is an attempt to create an atmosphere of hate and fear.”

Shaikh further urged students and their parents not to panic and to focus on their studies for the upcoming exams. “This government will be responsible for jeopardising the careers of millions of students if it gives credence to such hate-filled demands,” he added.

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