Assembly Elections 2023: MP records 73 per cent voting, Chhattisgarh 68 per cent till 5 pm, polling ends

"Polling process concluded peacefully across Morena district. There were no big incidents of violence anywhere in the district. There were small incidents of fights and stone-pelting incidents between two groups of people in a few villages where FIRs were registered," said Morena DM Ankit Asthana.

"A brawl broke out between two groups of people at around 5.45 pm in Jabalpur. The incident happened 15 minutes before the voting process ended. Prima facie, it seems that the fight occurred between people from the BJP and Congress. Further probe is underway in this regard," said a local police official.

On voting trends in Madhya Pradesh elections, Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said, "The voting percentage till 5 pm is 71.16 per cent... Constituency-wise, the highest voting percentage is in Ratlam's Sailana constituency, 85.49 per cent... In Khilchipur Rajgarh, the voting percentage is 84.17 per cent... In Seoni's Barghat constituency, the voting percentage is 84.16 per cent... In Bhind 50.41 per cent, in Gwalior South 51.05 per cent and in Jalabpur Cant. 52.2 per cent of voting has taken place... In Agar Malwa district, 82 per cent, in Neemuch 81.19 per cent and in Shajapur the voting percentage is 80.95 per cent... Alirajpur had 56.24 per cent, Bhind 58.41 per cent and in Bhopal 59.19 per cent voting took place. The overall average of the state is 71.16 per cent..."

Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) being sealed and secured at a polling booth in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) being sealed and secured at a polling booth in Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.

Watch | Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits a polling booth in Rehti, meets people. 

"The incident in Morena took place late at night yesterday in which one person died... After the post-mortem, an FIR will be registered. It is not related to elections. It is a pre-poll day incident... A small fight happened in Indore in front of Juni Police station, in which a case has been registered... There was no effect of the polls...," said Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Ranjan.

Till 3 pm, 55.31 per cent voting held in phase two of the Chhattisgarh elections; 60.52 per cent voter turnout has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh.

A BJP candidate and an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporter sustained injuries after unidentified persons opened fire in Madhya Pradesh's Mehgaon Assembly constituency on Friday. A police team reached the spot on being informed of the incident, police said. 

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel cast his vote in Durg. "Good news is coming from everywhere. People are reaching the polling booth and exercising their voting rights. I appeal to those who are at home to cast their vote... Everywhere there is a one-sided environment, the trust is on Congress..." he added. 

Ahead of casting his vote, Chhattisgarh CM and Congress candidate from Durg assembly constituency Bhupesh Baghel said, "We are more than 75 seats...The fight here is one-sided, there is no competition..."

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and his wife Amrita Rai cast their votes at a polling booth in Bhopal. On some incidents of violence in Madhya Pradesh during voting today he said, "Yes there are a few complaints. I hope that the government will work in a fair manner..."

 Union Minister and BJP candidate Narendra Singh Tomar cast his vote in Gwalior. Speaking to reporters after casting the vote, he claimed that there is a wave of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh. "The atmosphere is in favour of the BJP and people are liking the schemes and development works of the Central Government and State Government. BJP will form the government with a clear majority. I have cast my vote and here also (Gwalior) the atmosphere is in favour of BJP..." he added. 

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya Baghel exuded confidence in Congress retaining the power in the state. "As our CM has said, '75 paar hoga' so definitely '75 paar hoga'... Since morning, I have gone to 50 booths... Workers are filled with energy," he added. 

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan cast her vote at polling booth number 163 in Indore. The polling is underway in Madhya Pradesh. 

Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan cast his vote at a polling booth in Raipur. Speaking to the media later, he said democracy demands that all citizens should exercise their rights and by that they decide what sort of government they want in the state and at the Centre. "Casting vote is the democratic right of every citizen of the country. We have come and cast our vote," he added. 

Amid ongoing Assembly elections in the state, free poha was distributed to people who voted before 9 am in Indore today.

19.65% voter turnout was recorded till 11 am in the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh and 27.62% in Madhya Pradesh.

 Union Minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia cast his vote at a polling booth in Gwalior. After casting his vote, he claimed that the BJP would form the government in the state. "I am confident the people of the state will secure their growth and development by giving a full majority to the BJP. I am not giving any numbers but we will form our govt in Madhya Pradesh. Under the leadership of PM Modi, double engine government will bring prosperity and development in the state..." he told the media. 

Chhattisgarh Deputy CM and party candidate from Ambikapur, TS Singh Deo said that his name has never been projected by the party for Chief Minister. "We are fighting in a joint leadership, and Bhupesh Baghel is leading it... I haven't heard that my name is projected as CM. Yes, people in contact have it in their minds..." he added. 

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged the people to use their votes for the development of the state. "There is only love and blessings for the BJP among people. We work for the betterment of the people of the society... Congress is not going to make it in Madhya Pradesh this time. When Congress was in power, people did not get anything, today everyone stands with BJP," he said. 

On being asked about the CM's face, Chouhan said that he is not concerned about it as the party makes decision on it. "This is not important to me. Our party makes the decision on who has to work where. We don't think about ourselves, our mission is to work for the development of the country and Madhya Pradesh...BJP is going to get the biggest majority in the history," he added. 

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Narsinghpur, Prahlad Singh Patel cast his vote at a polling booth. "I am delighted and I feel honoured that I have been able to cast a vote at my 'janmabhoomi' and 'karmabhoomi' Narsinghpur as a candidate. I pray to Maa Narmada to keep blessing Madhya Pradesh because she is the lifeline of the state," he said. 

11.13 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Madhya Pradesh, while Chhattisgarh recorded a turnout of 5.71 per cent till 9 am. 

The report of stone pelting has surfaced from Madhya Pradesh's Morena district. According to the information, the incident occurred in the Dimani constituency during voting leading to injury of one person.

Chief Minister and BJP candidate from Budhni, Shivraj Singh Chouhan offered prayers at a temple in Sehore. After that, he along with his wife cast their votes at a polling station. They were also greeted by women in Sehore. 

Ahead of casting his vote in the ongoing state elections, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "There is immense excitement among people everywhere. I am getting love from Ladli Behna, children, youth and the elderly in the state..."  "To Vote is the right given to every citizen of the country and it is the duty of the citizen to cast his vote. I appeal to all the brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews in the state to exercise their franchise and become part of the State's growth story" the Chief Minister said in a post on X. 

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister and BJP candidate from Datia Narottam Mishra cast his vote at a polling booth. In the 230 assembly seats spread across 52 districts, a total of 73,622 Ballot Units (BUs), 64,626 Central Units (CUs) and 64,626 VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) units are being used for conducting polling. VVPAT system keeps a physical trail of all votes cast. It allows voters to verify their votes are cast as intended. 

BJP candidate from Indore-1, Kailash Vijayvargiya and his wife Asha Vijayvargiya cast their votes at a polling booth in Indore. BJP leader and son of Vijayvargiya, Akash Vijayvargiya also exuded confidence in the party's win and said, "We will form the government comfortably and run it efficiently."

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Narshinghpur Prahlad Patel and his wife offered prayers at Narsinghpur as the polling is underway in the state. Meanwhile, the BJP candidate from Indore-1, Kailash Vijayvargiya was also seen offering prayers at a temple in Indore. 

Women have been entrusted with the responsibility of shouldering the entire voting process in all the 201 polling stations in an assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. The move has been termed by officials as the first of its kind in the country. “For the first time in the country’s democratic history, women will shoulder the entire responsibility of an electoral process in an Assembly segment. There are 201 polling stations in Raipur City North seat and all are 'Sangwari booths' where everyone from the presiding officer to the polling officer are women," the district administration said in a release.

Chhattisgarh BJP president and party's candidate from Lormi, Arun Sao cast his vote at a polling booth in Bilaspur. The main battle in the state is between the Congress and the BJP. Prior to the voting, the state witnessed the top leaders of both parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bhupesh Bahgel, holding extensive campaigns.

A differently-abled voter was seen being helped to reach the polling booth, at a polling station in Chhatisgarh's Raipur. People were also seen queuing up at the polling station to cast their votes. The second and final phase of Assembly polls involving 70 seats in the state began this morning, while results will be declared on December 3.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president and party's candidate from Chhindwara, Kamal Nath cast his vote at a polling booth and siad that he has full faith in public and voters of the state. "I have faith in the entire state that they will side with the truth. I trust the public, the voters. I am not Shivraj Singh that I will say that we will win these many or that many seats. The public will decide the number of seats...," he said.

"BJP has Police, money and administration. They will have it for a few more hours now. Yesterday, I received several phone calls, someone sent me a video that shows that liquor and money were being distributed," Kamal Nath added.

BJP candidate from Indore-1, Kailash Vijayvargiya offered prayers at his residence as polling is underway in the state. He had made a formal comeback to electoral politics after a gap of ten years. Later, while speaking to the media, he claimed a double-engine government would be formed in the state. "I would like to tell the voters to definitely cast a vote...BJP will form the government in Madhya Pradesh, a double-engine government will be formed here. We will do development work like we did earlier. We will win more than 150 seats," he added. 

After casting her vote, an elderly voter showed her inked finger at a polling booth in Gwalior. Union Minister and BJP candidate from Narshinghpur, Prahlad Patel urged the people of Madhya Pradesh to touch the goal of 100% voting. "I request them to vote together for development...We will come to power for the fifth time with absolute majority...," he told ANI. 

People in Madhya Pradesh were seen queuing up outside polling stations as they await their turn to cast a vote. Visuals surfaced from polling stations in Bhopal and Narsinghpur. As many as 183 polling stations have been set up for persons with disabilities in the state. For the first time, 371 youth-managed booths have been set up, while the number of "model" polling stations stands at 2,536.

Speaking to the news agency ANI, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel urged people of the state to vote for the betterment of the state. "Today polling will happen for the remaining 70 seats...Your one vote will decide the future of youth, farmers, women...Please move out of your homes to vote...Vote for the betterment of Chhattisgarh," he added. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the voters to exercise their franchise as voting is underway in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. "Today voting will be held for all the assembly seats of Madhya Pradesh. I am confident that voters from every region of the state will vote enthusiastically and will enhance the beauty of this great festival of democracy. My special greetings to all the youth of the state who will be voting for the first time in this election," he wrote on 'X'.

"Today is the second and last round of voting for Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. I request all the voters to exercise their franchise. Your every vote is valuable for democracy," the Prime Minister wrote in another post. 

Voting is underway in 64,626 polling stations set up in the state. They include 64,523 main booths and 103 associate (sahayak) stations, where the number of voters is more than 1,500. As many as 5,60,58,521 voters, including 2,87,82,261 males, 2,71,99,586 females and 1,292 third-gender persons, are eligible to exercise their franchise. The voters also include service and overseas electors.

In Madhya Pradesh, there are 2,533 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor Kamal Nath. The single-phase voting covering all the 230 assembly seats -- 47 of them reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 35 for Scheduled Castes -- has more than 5.6 crore registered electors. 

The voting has begun for 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh as well as 70 seats in Chhattisgarh amid high security. In Madhya Pradesh, polling is being held from 7 am to 6 pm in all the assembly segments except in Baihar, Lanjhi and Paraswada seats in Balaghat district, 55 booths in Mandla district's Bichhiya and Mandla seats and 40 polling stations of Dindori district, all Naxalite affected, where voting time is 7 am to 3 pm.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Election Results 2018: 

Total Seats: 90 (Majority: 46)

Vote Share:

• Congress: 43.04%
• BJP: 32.97%
• JCC: 7.61%
• BSP: 3.87%
• Independents: 5.88%

Chhattisgarh Assembly Election Results 2018: Have a look

Total Seats: 90 (Majority: 46)

Seat Share:

• Congress: 68
• BJP: 15
• JCC: 05
• BSP: 02
• Independents: 00

Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang has urged voters to vote for the BJP. "I request all the voters to vote for BJP for the development of the state," he stated. 

Ahead of polls, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's younger brother Narendra Chouhan exuded confidence in BJP's victory in the state.  "All preparations have been done. We all are ready to cast our votes...BJP will form the government with a big majority," he told news agency ANI. 

The BJP apparently has gone for "collective leadership" in the state and has not projected Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as its clear choice for the chief ministerial post but there is no ambiguity in the Congress with Kamal Nath as its clear choice for the post. A reason for BJP banking on collective leadership is the perceived "fatigue factor" with the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Though Shivraj Singh Chouhan may not be personally facing anti-incumbency, there have been reports of a yearning for change among sections of the population.