Madhya Pradesh registered a 46.50 per cent voter turnout by 3 pm during the second phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in the state, according to data from the Election Commission of India. The polling for these seats—Tikamgarh (SC), Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, and Hoshangabad—commenced at 7 am on Friday.
Among these, Hoshangabad leads the voter turnout charts with 55.79 percent voting, followed by Tikamgarh with 48.76 per cent, Satna with 47.68 percent, Khajuraho with 43.89 percent, Damoh with 45.69 per cent, and Rewa with 37.55 percent as of 3 pm in the state, according to the same source.
Earlier, the polling percentage in the state was 38.96 per cent until 1 pm, 28.15 per cent until 11 am, and 13.82 per cent until 9 am in the second phase of LS polls, as per the same source.
Additionally, during the first phase of voting on April 19, the state witnessed 53.40 per cent voting until 3 pm, with the final voter turnout reaching 67.08 per cent. The first phase of polling in the state encompassed six parliamentary seats—Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat, and Chhindwara.
Previously, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan held a press conference and stated that polling for the second phase commenced at all 12,828 polling stations at 7 am, proceeding peacefully across the state, as reported by the same source.
“Today, the polling in the second phase of LS polls started at 7 am at all the 12,828 polling stations of the six parliamentary seats in the state. The polling is going on peacefully across the state. The voter turnout stood at 28.15 per cent in the first four hours till 11 am in the state. During the previous 2019 general elections, the polling percentage was almost the same in the second phase till 11am,” Rajan said.
Mock polls were conducted at all polling stations 90 minutes prior to the start of voting. During the mock poll, certain Balloting Units (BUs), Control Units (CUs), and VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) encountered issues and were subsequently replaced. A total of 51 BUs, 70 CUs, and 88 VVPATs were replaced, as stated by the officer. Furthermore, after the commencement of polling, a total of 14 BUs, 12 CUs, and 22 VVPATs were changed due to reported issues, according to the same source.
Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh are taking place in four phases. The first phase of polling occurred on April 19. The subsequent two phases are scheduled for May 7 and May 13. Vote counting is slated for June 4.
With a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Madhya Pradesh ranks as the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Among these constituencies, 10 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved, as per the same source.