The sweep plan of the Election Commission aimed at creating voting awareness among the people has its salutary effect on the voters of the district. This is evident from the fact that unlike 2008 elections, polling percentage in Indore district in this year”s Assembly elections has increased by about 3%. As against 67.85% polling recorded in the district in 2008, the overall poll percentage in the current year”s elections has gone up to 70.61 per cent.
Almost all the nine Assembly constituencies in the district have recorded an increase in polling compared to last Assembly elections.
As per the final report, polling in Indore-1 assembly constituency this year was recorded at 64.60% against 61.10 per cent in 2008, while Indore-2 recorded 65.12% polling this year against 61.90 in 2008, Similarly Indore-3 Assembly segment recorded 67.71% polling against 65.59% in the last elections, while polling in Indore-4 this year has been 67.79% against 59.71% in 2008.
Among the remaining Assembly constituencies, Indore-5 assembly segment recorded 66.85% polling against 62.31% in the last elections, while it was 72.71% in Rau against 69.62% in 2008. Similarly, Mhow Assembly constituency from where prestige of State industries minister Kailash Vijayverigya is at stake, 78.15% polling has been recorded this year against 77.09% in 2008, while in Sanwer, total polling percentage this year stood at 77.71% against 73.85% in 2008.
Of all the Assembly constituencies, the highest polling of 80.65% has been recorded from Depalpur, from where sitting Congress MlA Satyanarayan Patel is pitted against Manoj Patel of the BJP. In the previous Assembly elections, Depalpur constituency had recorded 79.47% polling.
Besides voters awareness campaign which contributed to increased participation of people in the electoral process, political observers also attribute rise in polling percentage to enthusiastic participation of young and first-time voters who came out to vote for their respective candidates in large number. However, opinions over poll outcome in the district though are divided with the political observers giving an edge to the BJP as compared to the Congress. While a section of avid political observers see the rise in poll percentage as a prospective victory of the BJP at the husting for the third consecutive time as they feel that the young voters would have cast their votes for the BJP, but then on the other hand, there are a section of people having deep understanding of politics have attributed increased polling to an undercurrent of tide against the ruling BJP and in that eventuality the Congress party may see a glimmer of hope of returning to power after its wilderness of 10 years.
Among all the regions in Madhya Pradesh, Indore division saw a galaxy of star campaigners convassing for the party in the region. Among the BJP candidates who are in the electoral fray from this region, surprisingly, the highest number of star campaigners, campaigned for the state industries minister and BJP candidate from Mhow. Among the star campaigners of the party who campaigned for Vijayvargiya in Mhow included Ananth Kumar, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former BJP president Vainkaih Naidu, Nazma Heptullah, Sushma Swaraj, Navjoot Singh Sindhoo, Uma Bharti and Shatrudhan Sinha respectively.
The arrival of BJP dignitaries in Mhow has been sharp contrast to Vijayvargiya”s claim who before filing his nomination forms from Mhow, claimed that he would go to Mhow only for filing of his nomination papers and it is the party workers who will work for him there and he would address for the party candidates from other weaker constituencies in Malwa and Nimar regions.
However, all his claims were thrown into winds as Vijayvargiya apparently finding himself on a sticky wicket in the current election, not only he himself got stuck in his constituency but also had to call party”s star campaigners to canvass for him in Mhow.