Madhya Pradesh: 74 candidates in fray for 8 LS seats in 4th phase of polling

A total of 74 candidates are in the fray in the fourth phase of polling in eight Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

Polling will be held in Khandwa, Indore, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Khargone, Ujjain and Dewas Parliamentary constituencies.

Of the eight seats, five are reserved for SCs/STs. They are -- Ratlam (ST), Dhar (ST), Khargone (ST), Ujjain (SC) and Dewas (SC).

Madhya Pradesh has 29 Lok Sabha seats with 10 reserved -- ST (6) and SC (4).

The polling in 21 other Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh was held in the previous three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7.

A total of 74 candidates -- 69 men and five women -- are in the fray in the fourth phase, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Ranjan said on Sunday.

Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for which 18,007 polling stations have been set up in the eight constituencies.

There are 1,63,70,654 eligible voters, including 82,48,091 men, 81,22,175 women, and 388 third-gender persons, the CEO said.

The eight constituencies spread over 64 Assembly segments in 15 districts in the state's Malwa-Nimar region are considered the bastion of the BJP.

The Indore Lok Sabha seat has the maximum number of 14 candidates while Khargone has the least number of nominees at five.

Of the eight seats, Indore also has the highest number of eligible voters at 25,26,803, while Ujjain has the least 17,98,704 voters, the CEO said.