"Uddhav Thackeray only remembers Marathi people during elections," says MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 20 : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande lashed out at Uddhav Thackeray and said that the Marathi people are well aware of how they were betrayed and trapped during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
"Marathi people know how they were betrayed in 2019. I feel that people know that Uddhav Thackeray only remembers Marathi people during the time of elections," said Sandeep Deshpande.
Speaking on the lower voter turnout recorded in the state of Maharashtra during the earlier phases, he said, "It has been said the voter turnout has decreased in the whole of Maharashtra. But I have full belief that wherever there is voting in Maharashtra today, the people will come out and cast their votes."
Notably, elections in 6 Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai are underway for Phase 5. The seats are Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central.
The other constituencies of Maharashtra that are a part of the ongoing election in the fifth phase include Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi and Thane.
Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second largest after Uttar Pradesh. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases, running from April 19 to June 1. The counting and results will be declared on June 4.
The voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote. As per the ECI, over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting.
The fifth phase will witness key contests in various constituencies. Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are looking for electoral success. Eight states/UTs going for polls in phase 5 are: Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.