Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh witnessed a record voter turnout of 74.61 per cent on Wednesday, around two per cent higher than that in the 2013 Assembly polls. In 2013, the state had seen voter turnout of 72.69 per cent.
Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer B.L. Kanta Rao indicated that the final polling percentage may be even around two per cent higher as the figures from some remote areas was yet to reach his office.
“The polling passed off peacefully”, he said, denying reports of booth-capturing in some centres in the state. “Not a single incident of booth-capturing has been reported from anywhere in the state”, he said.
The state CEO, however, admitted that some EVMs and VVPAT machines had malfunctioned during the polling in some centres. More than 1,000 faulty EVM and VVPAT machines were replaced in some booths, he added.
Three polling officers died of cardiac arrest while holding polls in Indore, Dhar and Gunna districts.
Both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress on Wednesday claimed victory in the Assembly polls.
MP Pradesh Congress Committee president Kamal Nath said the high voting figure clearly indicated that there was a strong undercurrent against the BJP. “I was hopeful that the Congress would secure at least 140 out of the total 230 seats. But I now sense that due to the high polling, the election might have got one-sided, which may also throw an astonishing result in favour of the Congress”, he told reporters here.
Official reports said supporters of a candidate in Mehgaon constituency in Bhind district allegedly opened fire on a youth outside a polling booth, that caused injuries to two people.
The Rashtriya Lok Samta Party candidate, Dr Rajkumar, was detained by the police for questioning over the incident.
