LS polls 2024: Madhya Pradesh records 67.08 per cent voter turnout in first phase

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 20 : Madhya Pradesh recorded a 67.08 percent voter turnout in the first phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in the state, according to data released by the Election Commission on Friday.
The polling for the six parliamentary seats--Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat, and Chhindwara--was held on Friday.
Of the six seats that went to polls on the day, Chhindwara topped the charts in terms of voter turnout with 79.18 percent, followed by Balaghat at 73.18 percent, Mandla at 72.49 percent, Shahdol at 63.73 percent, Jabalpur at 60.52 percent, and Sidhi at 55.19 percent in the first phase, according to the Election Commission.
Besides, the voting percentage in all the said constituencies has reported a decline in comparison to that of the previous 2019 general elections. During the previous LS polls, Chhindwara had topped the voter chart at that time as well, with 82.39 percent, followed by Mandla at 77.76 percent, Balaghat at 77.61 percent, Shahdol at 74.73 percent, Jabalpur at 69.43 percent, and Sidhi at 69.50 percent, according to the Election Commission.
Earlier, Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Rajan, said, "Voting has been done peacefully at all the 13,588 polling stations in the first phase of LS polls in the state. There was a dispute between two parties in Chhindwara but the police have controlled the situation and action is also being taken by them. There has been no major violence anywhere in the state."
Polling for the Lok Sabha in the state will be conducted in four phases, with the next three phases of voting scheduled for April 26, May 7, and May 13. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4.
Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of members it sends to the Lower House. Of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.