Amid tight security arrangements, polling for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections has begun for all 230 constituencies. The voting which began at 7 am will conclude at 5 pm.
As many as 5.04 crore voters will today elect a 230-member assembly in what promises to be a tough contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. A total of 65,367 booths have been set up across the 52 districts of the state and votes will be cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) attached to Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines.
Among 2,899 candidates in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has fielded candidates for all 230 seats while the Congress is contesting in 229 seats leaving one seat, Jatara in Tikamgarh district, for Sharad Yadav-led LJD. A total of 1,794 are from general category while 591 from Scheduled Castes and 514 from Scheduled Tribes.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections 2018 LIVE UPDATES:
17:00 PM: Polling concluded.
16:30 PM: 1,545 VVPAT machines, 383 control units and 586 ballot units were replaced across the state.
15:45 PM: 66%, 64% and 68% polling was reported from the Maoist-affected Baihar, Lanjhi and Paraswada constituencies respectively. Voting for these seats closed at 3pm.
15:30 PM: 50.69% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in Madhya Pradesh.
15:00 PM: Update
SAILANA 61.22% JAORA 60.44% ALOTE 62.59% MANDSOUR 52.20% MALHARGARH 58.87% SUWASRA 56.27% GAROTH 56.71% MANASA 66.78% JAWAD 62.35% MANAWAR 52.41% DHAR 54.01% BADNAWAR 65.00%
14:55 PM: Altogether, 3,00,782 government employees, including 45,904 women, have been deployed on poll duty across the state, where 65,341 polling stations have been set up.
14:35 PM: More than 250 EVMs replaced so far in Madhya Pradesh.
14:25 PM: 34.99% polling recorded till 2 pm, as per chief electoral office, Madhya Pradesh.
14:15 PM: 32.57% voter turnout recorded till 1:30 pm.
14:00 PM: “I have visited villages and towns of Madhya Pradesh. People in these areas do not have access to even basic amenities such as water and electricity,” said Congress leader Arun Yadav, who is contesting against Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Budhni.
13:45 PM: Kamal Nath on showing his election symbol after casting his vote in Chhindwara says, “I had already cast my vote. When people asked me when those from media asked me whom I have voted for I showed this (palm). What else could have I done?Show a lotus?”
13:30 PM: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan cast his vote from Budhni seat.
13:25 PM: “There are provisions for the extension of time, the local officers can take the call as they see fit. The matter does not need to be handled by the commission,” says CEC O P Rawat on Jyotiraditya Scindia’s request to EC to extend polling time due to EVM malfunction.
13:15 PM: Firing has been reported from two places in Bhind — in booth numbers 122 and 131-134.
12:45 PM: BJP and Congress workers clash in Chachoda assembly constituency in Guna district. Three people have been arrested. The Congress candidate in this seat is Laxman Singh, brother of Digvijaya Singh.
12:30 PM: At least 70 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were replaced at various polling booths across the central state following complaints of technical snags, MP’s Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters.
12:27 PM: Bhind district administration asks Ater assembly constituency candidates Arvind Bhadoriya of BJP and Hemant Katare of Congress to stay put in the local circuit house as a precautionary measure.
12:25 PM: Voting stopped in Raipura Lahar assembly constituency in Bhind district after two EVMs were damaged by anti- socials. The tehsildar’s vehicle was also damaged. Police is present on the spot.
12:20 PM: State Congress president Kamal Nath demands repoll tomorrow in all those areas where EVMs malfunctioned and many voters left seeing the long queue.
12:13 AM: “22 percent voting recorded till 11 am,” says chief electoral officer V Kantha Rao.
12:10 PM: “There have been many complaints of EVMs malfunctioning, have written to Election Commission. Have requested that voting time in these polling booths should be extended to compensate for the delay,” says Jyotiraditya Scindia.
12:08 PM: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia hugs aunt and former BJP minister Maya Singh when they met during voting in Gwalior.
12:05 PM: Firing reported from outside booths 120 and 122 in Bhind in Madhya Pradesh. The administration has been keeping senior leaders and candidates confined to a guest house in the district.
12:00 PM: 13.63% voting held till 11:15 am.
11:32 AM: Raghogarh MLA Jaivardhan Singh, son of senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, tweeted, “Around 25 EVMs are not working in Raghogarh Vidhan Sabha (10% of total booths). Strange coincidence that Congress got over 70% of votes in all these booths in the last election.”
11:30 AM: Election Commission announces Rs 10 lakh each compensation for the kin of the EC officials who passed away while on election duty.
11:25 AM: BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on his way on a horse chariot to cast his vote.
11:20 AM: “9.5 percent voting across Madhya Pradesh till 10 am,” says chief electoral officer V Kantha Rao.
11:15 AM: Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia are tweeting against the continued reports of EVM, VVPAT malfunction. They are seeking intervention by the Election Commission regarding the same.
11.00 AM: Jyotiraditya Scindia says, “There is an atmosphere of change in the state. The Congress will form a government in Madhya Pradesh.”
10:40 AM: Around 10 candidates in five seats of Bhind district have been put under house arrest. Sources say this has been done for security reasons.
10:35 AM: 6.32% voting till 9 am, 100 EVMs changed due to malfunctioning.
10:30 AM: One Election Commission official in Guna and two in Indore have passed away due to cardiac arrest.
10:15 AM: Voters have boycotted polling in Madai village in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district over unavailability of schools in the village.
9:50 AM: The EVM at polling booth number 178 in Dabra is now working.
9:45 AM: Police seize campaign material from BJP’s polling agents from a polling booth in Saint Mary’s, Bhopal as it was within 200 metres of a polling booth. One person taken to custody.
9:30 AM: Two faulty EVMs in Ujjain have been replaced, 11 VVPAT machines in Alirajpur, 5 VVPAT and 2 EVMs in Burhanpur also replaced.
9:25 AM: At a polling booth at Rashidia school in Bhopal, voters have been waiting since 8 am to cast their votes as EVM is not functioning.
9:22 AM: There are reports of six EVMs not working in various places in tribal-dominated Jhabua district.
9:20 AM: Firing in the air. Two two-wheelers burnt following election-related clash in Jhapdi Padla village of Sendhwa town in Barwani district. Cases registered against BJP workers.
9:15 AM:
9:06 AM: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh says, “I am certain that the Congress is winning this time and we’re winning comfortably.”
9:05 AM: Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chairman Kamal Nath said, “I have complete faith in the people of Madhya Pradesh. We are awaiting a big change in MP. The BJP can dream of a win, but voters will show them the reality.”
9:02 AM: EVMs rectified in Char Imli, Bhopal. Voting delayed by about 15 minutes. Chief electoral officer of Madhya Pradesh VL Kantharao was one of the officers who couldn’t cast vote on time due to the delay.
9:00 AM: After having cast his vote in Budhni, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told that BJP is aiming for 200 seats.
8:46 AM: “Your one vote ensures the speed and strength of development of Madhya Pradesh. All my brothers, mothers and sisters in Madhya Pradesh are requested to vote at the ‘Festival of Democracy’ and ensure their participation to bring a strong government in the state,” Dharmendra Pradhan tweets.
8:45 AM: Madhya Pradesh minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia casts her vote at a polling station in Shivpuri. She is up against Congress’ Siddharth Lada.
8:44 AM: Congress leader Kamal Nath casts his vote in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh.
8:42 AM: PM Modi urges people in Madhya Pradesh to vote in large number.
8:40 AM: First reports of EVM malfunction emerge with trouble being reported at polling booth number 178 in Dabra, Gwalior district.
8:30 AM: Congress leader Kamal Nath offers prayers at a Hanuman temple in Chhindwara.
8:15 AM: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan prays on the banks of Narmada river, in Budhni.
8:10 AM: Kamal Nath says, I have full faith in the people of Madhya Pradesh, they are simple and innocent people who have been robbed for a long time by the BJP.
8:05 AM: Amit Shah urges people of Madhya Pradesh to vote in large number.
8:00 AM: Voting for the remaining 227 seats has begun.
7:00 AM: Voting has begun in three Naxal-affected constituencies of Balaghat district — Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar. Polling there will happen there till 3.00 pm.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections 2018: Voting for all 230 constituencies begin