In the initial phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in Madhya Pradesh, state recorded a robust 53.40 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm in the first phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in the state, according to data released by the Election Commission.The polling for the six parliamentary seats–Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara–got underway at 7 am on Friday.
Out Of the six seats that went to polls on the day, Balaghat topped the charts in terms of voter turnout at 63.69 per cent, followed closely by Chhindwara, a Congress stronghold, at 62.57 per cent, Mandla at 58.28 per cent, Shahdol at 48.64 per cent, Jabalpur at 48.05 per cent and Sidhi 40.60 at per cent till 3 pm, according to the Election Commission.
Previously, the polling rate in the state stood at approximately 15% until 9 am, then escalated to 30.46% by 11 am, and further to 44.43% by 1 pm.
Earlier in the day, Anupam Rajan, the Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh, remarked, “Ahead of the first phase of Lok Sabha polling, mock polls were successfully conducted at 13,588 polling stations today. During these mock polls, certain issues were detected in some balloting units, control units, and VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails), which were promptly replaced. A total of 78 balloting units, 59 control units, and 88 VVPATs were replaced.”
The Lok Sabha elections in the state will be carried out over four phases, with the subsequent three phases slated for April 26, May 7, and May 13. Vote counting is set to take place on June 4.
Madhya Pradesh, with a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, ranks as the sixth-largest state in terms of its representation in the Lower House. Among these constituencies, 10 are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.