MP polls: 11.13% voter turnout till 9 am

Polling was going on peacefully in the single phase Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, and as per the Election Commission (EC), 11.13 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 a.m.

There are 2,533 candidates in the fray, including political heavyweights such as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor and challenger Kamal Nath, for the 230-member Assembly.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Rajan while talking to the media on Friday said, “Voting is going on peacefully in all 64,626 polling stations of Madhya Pradesh. Better arrangements have been made at polling stations for the convenience of voters.”

Voting started at 7 a.m. sharp at polling booths. There are a total 64,626 polling booths in 230 Assembly seats, out of which, 17,032 have been categorised as sensitive polling booths.

There are a total 5.59 crore registered voters in Madhya Pradesh, of them 2.87 are male voters and 2. 71 crore female, while 1,292 are third gender voters.

According to the EC, there are a total 2,533 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and several high profile ministers of his cabinet. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Prahlad Patel are also contesting the Assembly polls.

Former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath, who is contesting the election from his bastion Chhindwara, cast his vote accompanied by his son and Chiindwara MP Nakul Nath.

Importantly, in the last Assembly elections held in 2018, the Congress had bagged 114 seats against BJP’s 109. The Congress had then formed the government with the help of independent MLAs along with SP and BSP, however, Kamal Nath’s government collapsed within the next 15 months.