Mumbai, April 18 (IANS): After a dull start, voting suddenly picked up to more than triple - from around 7 per cent to over 22 per cent by 11 a.m., for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, officials said.
The highest turnout was in Parbhani (26.17 per cent) and the lowest 16.50 per cent was in Solapur.
Buldhana recorded 20.49 per cent polling, Akola 21.03, Amravati 20.06, Hingoli 24.08, Nanded 24.40, Beed 18.94, Osmanabad 20.09 and Latur 23.14 per cent.
The improved voting trend was described as encouraging by candidates and political activists.
There were long queues of voters, including many women and first timer voters, at many polling stations after the initial lax response.