As polling is underway in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that voting is a right and urged the people to exercise their franchise. “Voting is our Right, Voting is our Duty, And voting is an integral part of democracy. DO VOTE!” he tweeted. Fadnavis is seeking re-election from Nagpur South-West constituency and is pitted against Congress’ Ashish Deshmukh. Polling for 288 constituencies of Maharashtra began at 7 am today and will continue till 6 pm in the evening. The electoral fate of 3237 candidates in the state will be sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) by the voters who will exercise their franchise in the assembly elections. BJP is contesting 150 seats while its ally Shiv Sena has fielded 124 candidates. The remaining seats have been left for smaller allies. On the other hand, Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The ruling coalition of BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the 2014 Assembly elections separately. But as voters gave a split verdict, the two parties came together to form the government.
