Mumbai, Feb. 9 -- Counting of votes for the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections began at 10.00 am on Monday across 12 districts of the state.
The elections were held on February 7 and recorded an overall voter turnout of 68.28 per cent, according to official data.
These local body elections cover 727 Zilla Parishad seats and 1,454 Panchayat Samiti seats and are being viewed as a crucial political test between the ruling Mahayuti alliance-comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party faction earlier led by the late Ajit Pawar-and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
The polls were conducted in a sombre backdrop following Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash ...