LS polls second phase: 13.82 per cent polling in six seats in MP till 9 am

Bhopal, Apr 26 (PTI) About 13.82 per cent of voters cast their ballots till 9 am in six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the second phase of general elections on Friday, an official said.

The polling began at 7 am and is going on peacefully in all the six Lok Sabha seats, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan told PTI.

Till 9 am, Damoh recorded a voter turnout of 13.34 per cent, Hoshangabad 15.95, Khajuraho 13.44, Rewa 13.27, Satna 13.59 and Tikamgarh 13.36, the official said.

The early voters include Union minister Prahlad Patel in Damoh Lok Sabha seat, which he represented in 2019.

Voting in the six seats will end at 6 pm, the official said.

A total of 12,828 polling booths, including 1,136 run by women, have been set up for 1,1162,460 eligible voters of whom 58,32,333 are men, 53,29,972 women and 155 from the third-gender category, the official said.

The maximum number of candidates – 19 – are in the fray in Satna, while the lowest are in Tikamgarh where seven are contesting. There are 2,865 sensitive polling booths in the six constituencies that are spread over 47 assembly segments in the state.

Facilities like water, medicines and shelter have been provided at all the polling booths, the official said.

Union minister Virendra Kumar is seeking a fourth straight term from Tikamgarh. He is taking on Congress candidate Pankaj Ahirwar.

State BJP chief V D Sharma is seeking a second term from the Khajuraho seat. The opposition INDIA bloc is supporting former IAS officer R B Prajapati of All India Forward Bloc against Sharma after Samajwadi Party candidate Meera Yadav’s nomination was rejected.

Altogether, 223 flying squad teams and 240 static surveillance teams are keeping a close watch on the polling, the official said.

In the 2014 general elections, a voter turnout of 61.57 per cent was recorded in MP, which increased by 10 per cent to 71.16 per cent in 2019.

The third and fourth phases of Lok Sabha polls will be held on May 7 and 13.

In 2019, the BJP won in 28 of the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress could only bag the Chhindwara seat.