By Abhishek Prabhat BBC correspondent in Baramati, Maharashtra

Lack of enthusiasm for the election has contributed to the poor turnout

Jyotibai is 90 years old and on a mission.

She wants to bring about a change, and that has brought her to the Nagar Palika polling station in the centre of Baramati in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

Baramati is a small town, about a 250km (155 miles) from Bombay (also known as Mumbai).

It is a much talked-about parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra.

All eyes, as usual, are on a "star" politician who has won five elections from here.

Dull mood

Saheb, as Sharad Pawar is known here, is trying his luck for the sixth time.

Mr Pawar heads the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, which broke away from the main opposition Congress Party in 1999.

But political needs forced the two parties to come together and they are now running a coalition government in Maharashtra.

The mood in the town is dull.

There is hardly any enthusiasm for the election. There are no posters, banners or party flags

There is hardly any enthusiasm for the election. There are no posters, banners or party flags.

And there are an even fewer voters at polling stations.

The low attendance is partly blamed on water - or the lack of it.

"Water comes only for an hour every morning," said Babu Rao, a resident of this drought-hit constituency.

"People will head to polling centres once they have stored enough water for the day," he said.

Sugar belt

Baramati is a centre of India's sugar belt.

Sugarcane is the main crop, and political power here flows from the sugar factories. But that does not make politics any sweeter.

Sharad Pawar is being challenged by a one-time close ally, Prithviraj Jachak.

Mr Jachak, a sugar baron, left the NCP, upset over the growing influence of Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's nephew.

But the parting has hardly made any dent on Sharad Pawar's popularity.

"Saheb brought information technology to the Baramati villages," said Amrut Subhash, a voter.

But he was unable to locate a single internet cafe for us in the town.

Baramati is located in an industrial belt which comprises chemical, paper and automobile manufacturing units.

It has a huge network of dairy farms which produce 1.5 million litres of milk every day.

The town made the news recently when it installed computerised and automated milk collection centres.