New Delhi : On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings to first-time voters as Madhya Pradesh went to the polls for the 230-member Assembly. He also urged voters to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise in the second phase of polling for 70 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly.
Polling for the second phase in Chhattisgarh commenced at 8 am and will continue till 3 pm, with voting in nine polling stations of Bindranavagarh Assembly constituency held from 7 am to 3 pm.
In Chhattisgarh, over 18,800 polling stations have been established for the second phase, with 958 candidates contesting across the 70 seats.
Taking to his official social media handle, PM Modi stated, “I am confident that voters from every region of the state (Madhya Pradesh) will vote enthusiastically to mark this great festival of democracy. My special greetings to all the youth of the state who are voting for the first time in this election.”
“Today is the second and last round of voting for the Chhattisgarh Assembly. I request all the voters to turn out in record numbers and exercise their franchise. Each and every single vote of yours is essential to upholding our democratic traditions and practices,” PM Modi added in his post.
Simultaneously, voting for all 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh commenced at 7 am. The voters can cast their votes until 6 pm, with exceptions in Baihar, Lanji, and Parswara assembly seats of Balaghat district and some booths in Mandla and Dindori districts, where polling will continue till 3 pm.
The BJP aims to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, where it has ruled for nearly 18 of the past 20 years, while the Congress seeks to unseat the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
Webcasting is available at about 42,000 polling stations, and nearly 700 companies of central forces and two lakh state police personnel have been deployed for security during the poll.
The election will determine the electoral fate of over 2,500 candidates, with nearly 5.59 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise. This includes 2.87 crore male and 2.71 crore women voters. There are over 5,000 booths run by women and 183 polling stations run by the disabled, officials reported.
The outcome of the polls, coming nearly six months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, holds significant importance for both the BJP and Congress. The counting of votes for the five states, which also include Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram, will take place on December 3.
