Voter turnout crosses 74% in Chhattisgarh, M.P. Assembly polls

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh polls: Tight security, violence reported; provisional turnout 75.41% & 74% respectively. Jawan killed in Naxalite blast, woman died in queue and man in elephant attack. Bigwigs in fray, BJP accused of distributing money and liquor. ECI asked to take action against Home Minister's statement. BJP CM hopeful of victory, Congress CM confident of 75+ seats. Interesting contest in Patan with BJP MP and Jogi's son in fray.

Despite tight security, some incidents of violence were reported from both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which went to the polls on November 17. The provisional turnout in Madhya Pradesh at 10 p.m. was 75.41% of the 5.6 crore eligible voters, as voting was held to elect the 230-member Assembly. In Chhattisgarh, where 70 constituencies voted in the second phase of polling for the 90-member Assembly, there was a provisional voter turnout of at least 74% of the 1.63 crore eligible voters.

A jawan of the Indo Tibetan Border Police was killed in a blast triggered by Naxalites in the Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh. A woman also died due to unknown reasons while standing in a queue to cast her vote at a polling booth in the Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, and a man was killed in an elephant attack when he was heading towards a polling booth in Korea district. In Madhya Pradesh, a clash between two groups resulted in the death of a Congress leader’s aide in the Rajnagar constituency.

Friday witnessed a high-stakes electoral battle in both States, with political bigwigs in the fray, including M.P. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, former CM Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, as well as Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel.

Accusing the ruling BJP of distributing money and liquor to voters on the eve of the elections, Mr. Nath said: “Only police, money and administration are left with the BJP”.

Another former M.P. CM, Digvijaya Singh, whose son is contesting from his family bastion of Raghogarh, demanded strict action against State Home Minister Narottam Mishra for saying that there would be celebrations in Pakistan if any party other than the BJP wins the election in the State. “It is a provocative statement. Strict action should be taken against him. The Election Commission of India (ECI) should give notice to him immediately,” he said.

Mr. Chauhan, the incumbent CM, posted on X: “Once again BJP government will be formed with your blessings. This pace of development will continue like this. My family, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love, trust and blessings!” The Congress has fielded actor Vikram Mastal, who played the role of ‘Hanuman’ in the 2008 TV serial Ramayan 2, against Mr. Chauhan.

The Congress had got a wafer-thin majority in M.P. in 2018, but a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia had led to the fall of Mr. Nath’s government in March 2020, following which Mr. Chouhan returned as the CM.