Polling ends for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Assembly elections

Madhya Pradesh recorded 60 per cent polling till 3 pm amid incidents of violence, while a voter turnout of 55 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in Chhattisgarh.

A voter turnout of 45.4 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in Madhya Pradesh, where polling began on Friday morning for the 230-member assembly.

Two persons were injured in a clash on Friday during voting in Madhya Pradesh's Dimani constituency where the Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar is contesting, an official said. The situation is under control, he said. Morena Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailendra Singh said that a clash between two groups was reported from Mirdhan village over attempts to stop voters from casting their ballots. The SP said some channels ran inaccurate reports claiming that there was firing and subsequent bullet injuries in the village. 

 Liquor sales in Madhya Pradesh jumped by around 15 per cent between Monday and Wednesday evening before the state went “dry” ahead of Friday's assembly polls to check malpractices, an excise official said. According to the official, 8,67,282 litres of all types of alcohol, including country-made and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), was sold on November 13. The figures for the next two days stood at 9,17,823 and 8,81,550 litres, he said. Last year, alcohol sales were around 7,42,092 litres, 7,71,331 litres, and 7,67,273 litres on November 13, 14 and 15, respectively, he said.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel appealed to the people of Chhattisgarh to come out in large numbers as voting for the second phase of the state assembly elections on 70 seats began on Friday morning under a thick security blanket of police and paramilitary personnel.

A total of 10.39 per cent of electorates exercised their franchise till 9 am in Madhya Pradesh, where polling began in the morning for the 230-member assembly on Friday.

Till 9 am, 10.39 per cent of voters cast their votes in the state, a poll official said.