12 Zilla Parishads, 125 Panchayat Samitis go to polls in Maharashtra

Polling for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra began on Saturday, February 7th with a voter turnout of 7.80% by 9:30 am. Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar were among the early voters as polling commenced at 7:30 a.m. The elections, originally scheduled for February 5th, were postponed following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash on January 28th. Polling will continue until 5:30 p.m., with counting beginning on February 9th. The outcome of these local body polls is expected to influence the future of the NCP factions and their potential merger.