Mumbai: Only 24.57 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the Thane Lok-Sabha by-election, officials said on Friday.

The final figures of the by-poll, held on Thursday, were released by the district collector's office this afternoon.

The highest voter turn-out (46.01 per cent) was recorded in Murbad taluka, which is predominantly rural. Thane city recorded 28.7 per cent, while Belapur recorded 32.04 per cent.

Kalyan recorded 20.1 per cent, Ambarnath 26.37 per cent and Ulhasnagar 18.72 per cent, officials said.

While Thane city and Kalyan areas are considered to be Shiv Sena-BJP strongholds, the Nationalist Congress Party dominates in Belapur and Ulhasnagar areas.

The by-poll was necessitated due to the death of Shiv Sena MP Prakash Paranjape. His son Anand Paranjpe (Shiv Sena) and NCP leader and state minister Ganesh Naik's son, Sanjeev Naik, are in the fray.

Over 36 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise for the poll. The Thane seat covers six Assembly segments and there were 3,163 polling booths.
Source : PTI