Madhya Pradesh bypolls: 66% turnout

Bhopal : Amid reports of violence at a few places, an estimated 66.28 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 6 pm on Tuesday in the crucial bypolls to 28 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, an official said. One person was injured in stray incidents of violence, police said.

The average voting percentage in the 2018 assembly polls in these 28 constituencies, most of them in the Gwalior -Chambal region, was 72.93, the official said. The polling figure of 66.28 per cent was provisional and it will be updated later, he said.

A total of 355 candidates, including 12 ministers, are in the fray in these bypolls. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia cast their ballots at a booth in Gwalior district. As the voting progressed, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reached the BJP office in Bhopal in the afternoon and held discussions with party leaders.

Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath and other senior Congress leaders, including Digvijaya Singh, monitored the polling from a control room set up at the State party office in the state capital.

53.28% polling in Gujarat

An overall 53.28 per cent polling was recorded in by-elections in eight Gujarat Assembly seats till 5 pm on Tuesday, Election Commission data said.

The highest 70.12% polling was in the tribal region of Dangs, followed by 63.94% in Kaprada. Limdi registered 54.35 per cent polling and Gadhada 46.69% by 5 pm.

Dhari registered the least 42.18% polling among all eight constituencies, and Morbi 50.34 per cent. No updates were available for Abdasa and Karjan constituencies.

51.2% in Uttar Pradesh

The average voter turnout in the by-elections to seven Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday was 51.2 per cent at 5 p.m., as per the figures released by the state electoral office. The highest voting percentage was reported from Naugawan Sadat (57 per cent) and lowest was from Ghatampur (47 per cent).

Polling was held amidst tight security, following the safety protocols of Covid-19, and no violence was reported during the polling.