BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday registered a record 75 per cent voter turnout for the assembly polls with the BJP looking for a fourth straight term in a tough battle with a resurgent Congress which is eyeing a comeback after 15 years.
Polling in some booths was also affected due to faulty EVMs, according to the parties, which have lodged complaints with the Election Commission (EC) in this regard.
The voting figures in the one-phase polls for 230 seats, which was peaceful, was 74.61 per cent and it is likely to go up after the final tally, poll officials said.
The previous highest was in the 2013 assembly polls when the turnout was 72.69 per cent.
Voters turned out in large numbers in three constituencies in Naxal-affected Balaghat district with the tally being 75.05 per cent in Baihar, 79.07 per cent in Lanjhi and 80.05 per cent in Paraswada, the officials said.
Polling in the state was marred by complaints of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.
VVPAT is an independent printer system attached with EVMs that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended.
The state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters that 1,145 EVMs and 2,126 VVPATs were replaced after complaints of technical snags.
About 2.5 per cent (polling) machines were replaced, Rao said, adding this percentage was around two per cent in other states where elections were held recently.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is seeking a fourth term, and his wife Sadhana Singh cast their votes at his native village Jait, which is part of his Budhni Assembly constituency.
Polling was held between 8 am and 5 pm in 227 seats, while in naxal-affected areas of Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar the voting time was between 7 am and 3 pm.
Those who were in the queue at the polling booths till 5 pm were allowed to vote, Rao said.
“Poll officials received 386 complaints and all of them were resolved,” he added.
Three employees died due to “health reasons” while performing poll duty in Dhar, Indore and Guna districts, he said.
At Gadhpura village in Bhind district, a person was injured in violence but it was not poll-related, he said. The incident happened “far from the booth” and was related to enmity between two groups, he added.
On reports that some EVMs were found in a hotel, Rao said, “We got information that a sector officer in Shujalpur was staying in a hotel along with ballot machines. On getting information, a team of officers reached the hotel and seized the machine.”
“The officer concerned was removed (from poll duty) and the polling team was sent along with a new sector officer,” he said.
Leaders of Congress, which is in a straight fight with BJP to win the crucial election in the central Indian state, claimed that EVMs at many places malfunctioned.
“There were several complaints that EVMs at many places malfunctioned. We had requested the Election Commission that voting time in these polling booths should be extended to compensate for the delay,” Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
The commission should compensate for time wasted in replacing EVMs by extending polling time, the Guna MP said.
State Congress president Kamal Nath said there were reports from across the state that EVMs did not work at many places. “This affected polling. Long queues were witnessed…” he said.
The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress separately made representations to the EC and demanded re-polling in the booths where, according to the parties, EVM malfunctioning affected voting by three to four hours.
“We have lodged 150 complaints with the Election Commission (EC) in regard to polling,” Nath said.
Asked about the re-polling demand, Rao said, “The observers will examine it (complaints) and thereafter forward their reports to the EC which will then take a call on them.”
“According to our knowledge, the voting was not abandoned for more than two hours due to EVM malfunctioning in any part of MP,” the CEO said.
However, the EC would rely on observers reports in this connection, Rao said.
The BJP also lodged a complaint with the EC and sought action against Nath for “influencing” voters before casting his ballot during the assembly polls.
In its complaint, the BJP said Nath, accompanied by his friends, before casting his ballot in a polling booth at Chhindwara, showed his palm, the election symbol of his party, and thus influenced voters there.
Rao said they have sought the Chhindwara district returning officer’s report in connection with the BJP complaint against Nath.
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat said in Delhi there are provisions for the extension of time and local officers (in Madhya Pradesh) were empowered to take a call on the issue.
Nath cast his vote in Chhindwara district while Scindia, the party’s state campaign committee chief, exercised his franchise in Gwalior.
There were 2,899 candidates in the fray. The state has 5.04 crore eligible voters. Altogether 3,00,782 government employees were on poll duty and 65,341 polling stations were set up for polling, which was peaceful, Rao said. PTI
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