Braving the summer heat, 64.04 per cent of a 1,69,53,358-strong electorate, including 81,71,532 women, peacefully exercised their franchise on Thursday amid tight security in Madhya Pradesh's third and final phase of polling where 118 candidates are contesting in Khandwa, Mandsaur, Khargone, Ratlam, Dewas, Dhar, Vidisha, Ujjain, Indore and Betul parliamentary constituencies.
Dewas and Ujjain are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates while Ratlam, Dhar, Khargone and Betul are reserved for Scheduled Tribe nominees. Thirty-nine faulty electronic voting machines (EVMs) were replaced during mock polls and 59 during polling.
While talking to media persons, told Chief Electoral Officer Jaideep Govind said, "Voting continued to be boycotted at centre 15 in Khargone's Satawada over lack of basic amenities. Only five votes were cast at centre 142 in Ratlam's Jaora for similar reasons."
A technical fault in an EVM might necessitate re-polling at centre 279 in Burhanpur's Baroli as the device displayed only 79 voters though the electoral register listed 112. A booth level officer, Chhaganlal, a Harda Municipal Corporation employee, died following cardiac arrest at a booth in Harda's Punarda. Indore boasts the maximum 22 candidates while Dhar has the minimum seven. Other figures are Khandwa, Mandsaur (both 14), Ujjain, Vidisha (both 12), Dewas (11), Ratlam (10), Betul and Khargone (both 8).
Bigwigs whose electoral fortunes were sealed in the EVMs include lok Sabha's outgoing leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj (Vidisha), ex-Union minister Kantilal Bhuria (Ratlam), Congress state chief Arun Yadav (Khandwa) and former Union minister Sumitra Mahajan (Indore).
Until 5 pm, 60.36 per cent polling was recorded in Vidisha Assembly constituency where a by-election is being conducted and 11 nominees are in the fray. The by-poll was necessitated as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned from the seat. In last year's polls, he was simultaneously elected from Budhni.
A total of 84,650 civilian government officials were involved. As many as 103 companies of the the Central Armed Police Forces and 50 of the Special Armed Force were deployed, apart from 2,440 police officers, 16,289 head constables/constables, 10,730 Home Guard personnel and 19,447 special police officers. The state boasts of 29 lok Sabha constituencies. Nine witnessed voting on April 10 and ten on April 17.