LS polls: Violence in Bengal, clashes in Punjab; over 61% polling in last phase

Voting is underway in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Anab Mehdi
Published on: 19 May 2019 3:56 AM GMT
LS polls: Violence in Bengal, clashes in Punjab; over 61% polling in last phase
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New Delhi: Incidents of violence in West Bengal and clashes in Punjab were reported during the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, with over 61 per cent turnout being recorded in 59 seats.

Over 8,000 candidates were in fray for 542 Lok Sabha seats across the country in the Lok Sabha elections.

The last phase, which decided the fate of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also saw EVM glitches and poll boycott at some booths.

Voting took place in 13 seats of Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

In Uttar Pradesh, 55.52 per cent voting was recorded in 13 Lok Sabha seats, officials said.

The turnout in Varanasi was 53.58 per cent, while in Gorakhpur, it was 56.47 per cent, the Election Commission said.

Violence erupted in Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency, where state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking re-election, when supporters of the saffron party and the Samajwadi Party clashed. The situation was later brought under control.

A report from Chandauli said the fingers of Dalits had been inked before they could actually cast their vote in Tara Jivanpur village under Alinagar police station. Officials said an FIR was registered in the matter.

Incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal where 73.40 per cent of over 1.49 crore electorate exercised their franchise in nine Lok Sabha seats.

According to BJP's North Kolkata candidate Rahul Sinha, a crude bomb was hurled near Girish Park in the constituency around noon. Police, however, said crackers were burst in the area, and polling was underway peacefully.

In Kolkata south, TMC candidate Mala Roy alleged that she was stopped from entering polling booths.

Sporadic clashes were reported in Kolkata and its surrounding areas, with TMC workers claiming that voters were being intimidated by central forces outside booths.

BJP candidate Nilanjan Roy in Diamond Harbour constituency alleged that his car was vandalized in Budge Budge area. Similar reports also came in from Jadavpur constituency, where BJP candidate Anupam Hazra's car came under the attack of unidentified men.

"Polling has by and large been peaceful in the nine seats. There have been no complaints of any violence from any of the polling booths," an election official told PTI.

"There were also reports of EVM glitches in several polling stations. We have sent reserve EVMs to booths, where the voting process was temporarily hampered due to technical glitches," he added.

Punjab saw a polling percentage of 59 per cent in 13 Lok Sabha seats. In lone Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, 63.57 per cent turnout was registered. Maximum polling percentage was witnessed at 64.18 in Patiala and the lowest was in Amritsar at 52.47.

In the morning, there were some reports of technical glitches in EVMs at several places including Ludhiana, Samana and Moga. Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju said eight ballot units, 13 control units, and eight voter-verified paper audit trail have been replaced.

There were also reports of clashes between Congress and Akali-BJP workers in Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda and Gurdaspur. At Talwandi Sabo, Akalis alleged that shots were also fired by ruling party workers.

In Himachal Pradesh, 66.70 per cent turnout was recorded till 5 pm in four Lok Sabha seats where five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates in the fray.

EVM snags delayed voting at nine polling stations. Voting restarted after the nine faulty EVMs were replaced, a state election officer said.

A turnout of 132 per cent has been recorded in the world's highest polling station in Lahaul and Spiti district's Tashigang village, a district official said.

In Madhya Pradesh, 69.36 per cent voter turnout was recorded in eight Lok Sabha seats.

However, voters listed at a booth in Agar Malwa district falling under the Dewas seat and five booths in Mandsaur seat boycotted the polling over their demands. Efforts were on to persuade voters to exercise their democratic right, an official said.

The official said around 12 people cast their votes at the polling booth in Dewas after being persuaded by election officials there.

Bihar witnessed 53.36 per cent voting in eight Lok Sabha seats.

An election official said, "Going by reports that reached us from district headquarters, we have found out that the voting process was temporarily hampered at few polling stations in Ara, Sasaram, Jehanabad, Pataliputr and Buxar. Officials have attended to the complaints and redressed all grievances," he said.

In neighbouring Jharkhand, an estimated 70.97 per cent of the total 45,64,681 voters exercised their franchise in three Lok Sabha seats.

In the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, over 10.01 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations and has deployed security personnel for smooth conduct of polls.

An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases and the whole elections were spread over 38 days. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

A bypoll was held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March. Bye-elections are also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram -- and the Dehri assembly seat in Bihar.

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10.48 per cent polling till 9 am in Jharkhand

An estimated 10.48 per cent of the total 45,64,681 voters exercised their franchise till 9 am in the final phase of polling for the three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Sunday, an Election Commission official said.

The electorate also include 22,00,119 female and 21 third gender voters.

There are a total 42 candidates in the three seats, including former chief minister and JMM chief Shibu Soren who is contesting from the Dumka seat.

The other two constituencies where polling is being held are Rajmahal and Godda.

A large number of women and first time voters were seen in queues before the booths as the polling began at 7 am.

Polling will end at 4 pm.

Elderly voters were seen escorted by their relatives to the booth to help them cast their votes.

In Dumka Soren is facing BJP's Sunil Soren, while in Rajmahal seat sitting JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansda is taking on former minister and BJP's Hemlal Murmu.

BJP's sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is facing challenge from JVM's Pradip Yadav from the Godda seat.

The JMM, the Congress and the JVM have formed 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) in the state.

Chief Electorate Officer L Khiangte said that 6,258 control units, as many ballot units and 6,258 VVPATs have been set up in the three constituencies, besides keeping 1260 control units, as many ballot units and 1884 VVPATs in reserve.

There are 6,258 polling stations with 27,536 polling personnel manning them.

A total 589 polling stations have webcasting facility while there are 137 all-women polling stations.

Inspector General of Police (Operation) Ashish Batra said that 37,398 security personnel have been deployed across the three constituencies as part of security arrangements.

An Air ambulance is available for emergency services, he said, adding locations of sensitive booths are being under air surveillance.

8.08 per cent polling in 8 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar till 9 am

An estimated 8.08 per cent of the 1,52,52,608 voters had exercised their franchise in the eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar on Sunday till 9 am, an official said.

Altogether 157 candidates including four Union Ministers are in the fray in the seventh and final phase of polling in Bihar.

Polling is currently underway in eight Lok Sabha constituencies - Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Ara, Buxar, Jehanabad, Sasaram and Karakat .

As per the poll figure released by office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Bihar, all the eight constituencies together recorded 8.08 per cent polling till 9 am.

"Polling has been peaceful with no untoward incidents reported from any of these constituencies, so far except initial reports of EVM malfunctioning," official sources said.

As per reports reaching from district headquarters where voting currently is underway, voting was hampered at few polling stations in Ara, Sasaram, Jehanabad, Pataliputra, Buxar.

Official sources said the problems with regard to EVMs have been redressed.

Prominent candidates whose electoral fate will be decided in Sunday's polling include - Union Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, his Congress rival Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib), Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav and his RJD rival Misa Bharti (Pataliputra),

Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar), Union minister R K Singh (Ara), former Lok Sabha Speaker and senior Congress leader Meira Kumar (Sasaram) are also in fray in Sunday's polling.

People of all age groups, men or women, were seen standing in long queues at various polling stations in these eight Lok Sabha seats to participate in the biggest festival of world's largest democracy.

Prominent among those who voted in the capital city at different polling stations include - Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, his Deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 PM at all places in the eight Lok Sabha constituencies except 10 assembly constituencies of three lok sabha constituencies of Pataliputra, Sasaram and Karakat where voting would come to an end at 4 pm.

Central para military forces, Bihar Military Police, Special Auxiliary Police jawans have been deployed at all 15,811 polling stations eight lok sabha constituencies.

Himachal witnesses good turnout in first two hours of polling

About 14 per cent turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling on Sunday in four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh where five MLAs, including a state minister, are among 45 candidates in the fray.

Polling began at 7 am in Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra.

Nine out of total 608 votes were cast in polling station number 39 located at Central School Jakhu in Shimla by 7.15 am.

EVM snags delayed voting at nine polling stations. Voting restarted after the nine faulty EVMs were replaced, a state election officer said.

Web casting is successfully being done in 776 booths, he added.

13.41 per cent polling till 9 am in 9 LS seats in Bengal

An estimated 13.41 per cent of the 1,49,63,064 voters exercised their franchise in nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal till 9 am on Sunday, an Election Commission official said.

Polling in the first two hours was peacefull, the official said.

"Polling till 9AM in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies is absolutely peaceful. We have received no complaints of any violence or any problem from anywhere in any of the polling booths in these constituencies. However, our officers are alert and ready to counter any untoward incident," a senior IPS officer told PTI.

Till 9 am, Jadavpur recorded the highest turnout with 17.11 per cent followed by Dum Dum 16.57 per cent, he said.

Mathurapur (SC) witnessed 15.68 per cent, Basirhat 15.67 per cent, Barasat 14.78 per cent, Diamond Harbour 13.32 per cent followed by Kolkata Dakshin 11.92 per cent, Jaynagar, 11.43 per cent and Kolkata Uttar 11.08 per cent, the official said.

There were, however, reports of malfunctioning of EVMs from some polling stations.

"We are looking into that. Reserve EVMs are being sent to those polling centres where from we got reports of some machines not functioning properly. Polling there will soon start," the official added.

An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in these nine seats -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a four- cornered contest between the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front.

A total of 710 companies of Central forces are being deployed by the Election Commission to cover 17,042 polling booths to ensure free and fair voting, officials said.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.

10 per cent polling in early hours of voting in UP

Nearly 10 per cent voting was recorded in the first two hours of polling in 13 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was among the early voters in Gorakhpur, said, "People are fighting this election for nation's interest and if someone cannot understand this thing, his IQ is questionable. The entire election revolved around Modiji. With big achievements of his government during the last five years, the BJP will win the election.

Ram Bhuwal Nishad, the SP-BSP alliance candidate also voted at Daunadih Prathmik Vidyalaya booth number 295 in Gorakhpur at 7.30 AM.

Union minister of state for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla also exercised his franchise in Gorakhpur. He said BJP candidate Ravi Kishan will win with more than 3 lakh votes and the BJP will form government at the Centre.

The turnout in Varanasi in the first two hours was 9.90 per cent. The highest turnout so far was 13.20 per cent in Mirzapur, while Ballia reported the lowest turnout of 8.70 per cent, the Election Commission said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election from Varanasi.

Polling is underway in Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC).

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting from Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

The saffron party has pitted Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan from Gorakhpur against Congress' Madhusudan Tripathi and Rambhual Nishad of the Samajwadi Party.

Gorakhpur MP Pravin Nishad, who had won the seat on a SP ticket in bypolls last year, has joined the BJP. The party has fielded him from Sant Kabir Nagar seat.

Gorakhpur was represented by Yogi Adityanath in the Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2017, before he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The final phase of the Lok Sabha polls in the state will also decide the fate of eight SP and five BSP candidates.In all, there are 167 candidates in the fray for 13 seats.

The highest number of 26 candidates in the fray are from Varanasi, while Bansgaon has the least number of four candidates fighting the polls.

Over 2.32 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in this phase in UP. As many as 25,874 polling booths have been set up in 13,979 polling centres in the final phase, the Election Commission said.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in the state, securing 42.63 per cent of votes. BJP ally Apna Dal bagged two.

13.19 pc voter turnout till 10 am in MP

Around 13.19 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first three hours of polling on Sunday in the eight Lok Sabha seats of Madhya Pradesh, an official said.

Polling for the eight seats - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa - in the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state was going on peacefully since 7 am, MP's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao said.

The voting figures till 10 am were: Dewas-14.6 per cent, Ujjain 14.6 per cent, Mandsaur-14.64 per cent, Ratlam- 12.08 per cent, Dhar-11.54 per cent, Indore 10.84 per cent, Khargone-14.66 per cent and Khadnwa-13.45, another poll official said.

Prominent candidates in the fray are former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria and Arun Yadav of the Congress, who are contesting from Ratlam and Khandwa seats, respectively.

Long queues were seen at several booths in these eight constituencies, all currently held by the BJP.

Some state leaders from Malwa Nimar region of the Indore constituency were also seen standing in queues to cast their votes.

Altogether 82 candidates, including Bhuria and Yadav, are in the fray in the eight constituencies where there are 1.49 crore eligible voters.

Total 18,411 polling booths, including 1,157 entirely managed by women, have been set up in these seats, he said.

An average 69.26 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first three phases of the Lok Sabha polls in the state, he added.

Out of the total 29 Lok Sabha seats in MP, six went to polls on April 29, seven on May 6 and eight on May 12.

The counting of votes would be held on May 23.

Voting underway for last phase of LS polls, EVM glitches at many poll booths

Amid reports of EVM glitches, an average 10-14 per cent polling was recorded in the first two hours of voting on Sunday in 59 seats in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections to decide the fate of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Voting is underway in all 13 seats of Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

In Uttar Pradesh, nearly 10 per cent voting was recorded in the first two hours of polling in 13 Lok Sabha seats.

Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Modi, recorded 10.87 per cent polling till 9 am.

Modi's main challengers are Congress's Ajay Rai and SP-BSP candidate Shalini Yadav.

Madhya Pradesh recorded around 13.19 per cent voter turnout in the first three hours of polling in eight Lok Sabha seats.

Polling for eight seats - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa was going on peacefully since 7 am, MP's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao said.

Long queues were seen at several booths.Some state leaders from Malwa Nimar region of ndore constituency were also seen standing in queues to cast their votes.

In West Bengal, 13.41 per cent polling was recorded till 9 am in 9 LS seats.

"Polling till 9 am in nine Lok Sabha constituencies was absolutely peaceful. We have received no complaints of any violence or any problem from anywhere in any of the polling booths," a senior IPS officer told PTI.

There were, however, reports of malfunctioning of EVMs from some polling stations.

"We are looking into that. Reserve EVMs are being sent to those polling centres where from we got reports of some machines not functioning properly. Polling there will soon start," the official added.

In Bihar, an estimated 8.08 per cent of the 1,52,52,608 voters exercised their franchise in the eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar tll 9 am, an official said.

Altogether 157 candidates including four Union Ministers are in the fray in the seventh and final phase of polling in Bihar.

Polling is currently underway in eight Lok Sabha constituencies - Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Ara, Buxar, Jehanabad, Sasaram and Karakat .

"Polling has been peaceful with no untoward incidents reported from any of these constituencies, so far except initial reports of EVM malfunctioning," official sources said.

As per reports reaching from district headquarters, voting was hampered at few polling stations in Ara, Sasaram, Jehanabad, Pataliputra, Buxar.

Official sources said EVM problems have been redressed.

Prominent among those who cast their vote were Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, his Deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, and Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

In neighbouring Jharkhand, an estimated 10.48 per cent of the total 45,64,681 voters exercised their franchise till 9 am.

A large number of women and first time voters were seen in queues before booths as polling began at 7 am. Polling will end at 4 pm.

Polling was also underway in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab and the lone Chandigarh constituency, with SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri among those in the fray.

Among early voters were cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Congress candidate from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari, sitting MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi, BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Congress candidate from Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

There were reports of technical glitches in EVMs at several places including Ludhiana, Samana and Moga.

Himachal Pradesh witnssed about 14 per cent turnout n the first two hours of polling.

Polling began at 7 am in Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra.

EVM snags delayed voting at nine polling stations. Voting restarted after the nine faulty EVMs were replaced, a state election officer said.

In the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, over 10.01 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations and has deployed security personnel for smooth conduct of polls.

An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases. The whole elections were spread over 38 days. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

28.72 per cent polling in 3 LS seats in Jharkhand till 11 am

An estimated 28.72 per cent of the total 45,64,681 voters have exercised their franchise in the final phase of polling for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand till 11 am on Sunday, an official said.

There was no report of any violence from anywhere in the three Lok Sabha constituencies, police said.

A total of 42 candidates including former chief minister and JMM chief Shibu Soren are contesting from the three Lok Sabha seats - Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda - .

Rajmahal witnessed a voter turnout of 27.14 per cent while Dumka registered 28.60 per cent and Godda recorded 30.15 per cent, according to an Election Commission release.

Braving the summer heat, a large number of voters, including elderly persons and differently-abled voters, are seen in long queues in Dumka, Rajmahal and Rajmahal seat as the polling began at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm in the three constituencies.

An 86-year old woman cast her vote at Pakur under Rajmahal Lok Sabha seat while an 80-year-old woman exercised her franchise at Deoghar in Godda constituency.

In Dumka, Soren, an eight-time MP, is facing challenge from BJP's Sunil Soren for the third straight time. The JMM president had defeated the latter in 2014 and 2009.

Sitting JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansda is taking on former minister and BJP's Hemlal Murmu from Rajmahal for the second time in a row.

BJP's sitting MP Nishikant Dubey main opponent in the Godda seat is JVM MLA Pradip Yadav.

The JMM, the Congress and the JVM have formed 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) in the state.

Chief Electorate Officer L Khiangte said that 6,258 control units, as many ballot units and 6,258 VVPATs have been set up in the three constituencies, besides keeping 1260 control units, as many ballot units and 1884 VVPATs in reserve.

There are 6,258 polling stations with 27,536 polling personnel manning them.

A total 589 polling stations have webcasting facility while there are 137 all-women polling stations.

Inspector General of Police (Operation) Ashish Batra said that 37,398 security personnel have been deployed across the three constituencies as part of security arrangements.

An Air ambulance is available for emergency services, he said, adding locations of sensitive booths are being under air surveillance.

LS polls: Two govt employees on poll duty die in MP

Two government employees engaged in election duty died in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Sunday.

Garu Singh Chogad, who was deployed at the Jalwat polling booth in Dhar Lok Sabha constituency, died after suffering a heart failure on Sunday morning, state's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters here.

In another incident, a presiding officer, Anil Nema, in Dewas Lok Sabha seat died of cardiac arrest on Saturday night, he said.

Polling was underway peacefully on Sunday in eight Lok Sabha seats - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa - in the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state, he added.

Voters boycott polling at six booths in MP

Voters boycotted polling at six booths in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday over some local issues, a senior election official said.

Efforts were on to pursuade the voters to exercise their democratic right, MP's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters here.

Polling was underway in the eight constituencies of Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa since 7 am, he said.

However, voters listed at a booth in Agar Malwa district falling under the Dewas seat and five booths in Mandsaur seat boycotted the polling over some of their demands, Rao said, without elaborating further.

"Our teams are in talks with them and urging them to cast their votes. We are trying hard so that that no one refrains from voting over local issues," he said.

Rao said around 12 people cast their votes at the polling booth in Dewas after being persuaded by the election officials there.

Meanwhile, long queues were seen at several other booths in the eight constituencies, all currently held by the BJP, he said.

Some state leaders from Malwa Nimar region of the Indore constituency were also seen standing in queues to cast their votes in the morning.

Prominent candidates in the fray are former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria and Arun Yadav of the Congress, who are contesting from Ratlam and Khandwa seats, respectively.

Altogether 82 candidates, including Bhuria and Yadav, are contesting in the eight constituencies where there are 1.49 crore eligible voters.

Total 18,411 polling booths, including 1,157 entirely managed by women, have been set up in these seats, Rao said.

An average 69.26 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first three phases of the Lok Sabha polls in the state, he added.

Out of the total 29 Lok Sabha seats in MP, six went to polls on April 29, seven on May 6 and eight on May 12.

The counting of votes would be held on May 23.

Sumitra Mahajan, Kantilal Bhuria cast vote in MP

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan cast her vote in Indore city on Sunday during the fourth and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh.

The veteran BJP leader, who represented the Indore Lok Sabha seat eight times, arrived at a polling booth in the Old Palasia area there and exercised her franchise.

She was accompanied by Shankar Lalwani, who has this time been fielded by the BJP from Indore seat.

Former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria, who is contesting from Ratlam seat on the Congress' ticket, also cast his vote at a booth in the Gopal Colony area in Jhabua along with his family members.

Before casting his vote, Bhuria offered prayers at a temple.

Polling was underway since 7 am in the eight constituencies of Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa.

The other prominent candidates include former Union minister Arun Yadav of the Congress, who is pitted against state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan in Khandwa.

Besides, senior Congress leader Meenakshi Natrajan has been nominated from Mandsaur.

Altogether 82 candidates are contesting in the eight constituencies, all currently held by the BJP, where there are 1.49 crore eligible voters.

(PTI)

Anab Mehdi

Anab Mehdi

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