ITBP Personnel Killed In IED Blast By Naxalites In Chhattisgarh, Sporadic Violence Mars MP: Voting Concludes In Both States

MP recorded a tentative voter turnout of 71.11 per cent while it was 67.34 per cent in Chhattisgarh till 5 pm, according to Election Commission of India.

Voting comes to an end in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Source : PTI

Polling for the legislative assemblies of the two states came to an end on Friday at 5pm sealing the fate of 958 candidates in Chhattisgarh and 2,534 candidates in Madhya Pradesh. The polling began for the second phase in Chhattisgarh for 70 seats at 8 am except in nine polling booths in the Naxal-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district, where voting began at 7 for security reasons. 

In Madhya Pradesh, the single-phase polling at all the 230 constituencies started at 7 am.

Chhattisgarh Polls 

• A tentative voter turnout of 67.34 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in Chhattisgarh, as per the Election Commission of India. 
• Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, whose Patan constituency was in the fray in the 70 seats, urged the voters to exercise their franchise as he also cast his vote in Patan’s Jheel village. 
• A total of 958 candidates on 70 across 19 districts were in the fray. 
• Among important candidates included Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo from Congress while Union minister Renuka Singh, MP Arun Sao and MLA Brijmohan Agrawal were BJP’s key nominees in today’s poll. 
• Most of the districts did not report incidents of any violence except for Gariaband where a soldier of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, escorting the poll officials, was killed in an IED blast by the naxalites. 
• "The incident happened when the polling party was returning after voting concluded. The polling party reached Gariaband safely. The incident happened around 3km from the polling station. Police is on high alert,"  Additional SP Gariaband
• A woman reportedly died for unknown reasons while waiting in a queue to vote at a voting station in Kasdol assembly seat in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, while a man was killed in an elephant attack while walking towards a polling booth in Korea district.

MP Polls 

• In Madhya Pradesh, a tentative voter turnout of 71.11 per cent was recorded till 5 pm, as per the Election Commission of India. 
• Sporadic violence marred the polls in the heart of India as clashes were reported in Morena district while Congress candidate from Jhabua, Vikrant Bhuria accused BJP workers of stone pelting. 
• An aide of a Congress candidate from Rajnagar constituency in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district was killed in a fight between two groups on Friday. 
• Five people were wounded in a skirmish between two groups in the Mhow area of Indore district while two men were wounded in a clash in Dimani constituency of Morena district from where Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party. 
• The Friday polls sealed the fate of important leaders like Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who contested the polls from Sehore seat in Budhni constituency while Congress leader Kamal Nath entered the electoral fray from Chhindwara constituency.