THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Bhopal/ Raipur: As per the Election Commission of India’s latest data, at 5 pm, Madhya Pradesh registered a voter turnout of 71.16 per cent, while Chhattisgarh witnessed 68.15 per cent on the 70 seats that underwent polling in the second phase of the state election.
A voter turnout of 60.52 per cent was reported in Madhya Pradesh as of 3 pm in the ongoing elections for 230 assembly constituencies on Friday whereas up to 1:00 pm, the state registered a 45.40 per cent voter turnout.
On the other hand, Chhattisgarh reported a voter turnout of 55.31 per cent in the second phase of the assembly polls until 3 pm on Friday while as of 1 pm, the voter turnout in the state stood at 38.22 per cent.
On Friday at 7 am, the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly single-phase polling started.
Voters are permitted to cast their ballots until 6 pm, with the exception of the Baihar, Lanji, and Parswara assembly seats in Balaghat district, and certain polling stations in Mandla and Dindori districts, where polling concluded at 3 pm.
Webcasting is operational at approximately 42,000 polling stations, with around 700 units of central forces and two lakh state police personnel deployed to ensure security during the election.
The outcome of the election will determine the political future of more than 2,500 candidates. Approximately 5.59 crore voters, comprising 2.87 crore men and 2.71 crore women, are eligible to participate in the voting process.
Chhattisgarh comprises 90 seats, and the first phase of polling on November 7 covered 20 seats.
Voting was scheduled from 8 am to 5 pm, with the exception of nine polling booths in the Naxal-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Rajim district, where the voting period was from 7 am to 3 pm.
For the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh, more than 18,800 polling stations have been set up.
A total of 958 candidates are contesting across the 70 seats where polling is currently taking place.
The tallying of votes for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, along with Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram, is slated for December 3.
