Polling starts in 6 MP Lok Sabha seats

Bhopal: Polling began Friday morning in six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the second phase of general elections, an official said.

Voting started at 7 am in Tikamgarh (SC), Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, and Hoshangabad, and will end at 6 pm, the official said.

A total of 12,828 polling booths, including 1,136 runs by women, have been set up for 1,1162,460 voters of whom 58,32,333 are men, 53,29,972 women, and 155 transgenders, the official said.

The maximum number of candidates - 19 - are in the fray in Satna, while the lowest are in Tikamgarh where seven are contesting.

There are 2,865 sensitive polling booths in the six constituencies that are spread over 47 assembly segments in the state.

Facilities like water, medicines, and shelter have been provided at all the polling booths, state chief electoral officer Anupam Rajan said.

Union minister Virendra Kumar is seeking a fourth straight term in Parliament from Tikamgarh. He is taking on Congress candidate Pankaj Ahirwar.

State BJP chief V D Sharma is seeking a second term from the Khajuraho seat. The opposition INDIA bloc is supporting IAS officer R B Prajapati of All India Forward Bloc against Sharma after Samajwadi Party candidate Meera Yadav's nomination papers were rejected.

Altogether 223 flying squad teams and 240 static surveillance teams are keeping a close watch on the polling, the official said.

In the 2014 general elections, 61.57 percent voting was recorded in MP, which increased by 10 percent to 71.16 percent in 2019.

The third and fourth phases of Lok Sabha polls will be held on May 7 and 13.

In 2019, the BJP won 28 out of the total 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress could only bag the Chhindwara seat.