DD India

Voting for all 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh began at 7 am on Friday. Simultaneously, the second phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, covering 70 out of the total 90 seats, is also underway. The outcome of this final phase in Chhattisgarh will decide the political fate of key figures, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy CM TS Singh Deo, eight State Ministers, and four Members of Parliament.

Prominent candidates in Madhya Pradesh include Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Ministers and BJP leaders Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste, along with party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. From the Congress party, former Chief Minister Kamalnath, party leader Dr. Govind Singh, Jitu Patwari, and Jayavardhan Singh are contesting the election.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 5.59 crore registered voters, consisting of 2.87 crore males, 2.71 crore females, and 1,292 transgenders. Among them, 2.86 crore voters fall between the ages of 20 and 39. Notably, 2.2 million youths, aged 18 to 19 years, are participating in the election for the first time.

The first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly election for 20 seats took place on November 7, witnessing a substantial voter turnout of 78%. The ongoing second phase, involving 70 seats, features over 1.63 crore eligible voters and 958 candidates on the ballot. Of the 18,833 polling booths, 700 are entirely managed by women. Due to security concerns, polling time has been reduced in nine booths in the Naxal-affected Bindranawagarh seat in the Rajim district.

Chhattisgarh has a total of 1.63 lakh registered voters across 70 assembly seats in 22 districts, including 8.1 lakh male voters, 8.2 lakh female voters, and 684 transgender voters. Among the 70 seats, 17 are reserved for ST, 9 for SC, and 44 are general seats.

Rajasthan is scheduled to vote in a single phase on November 25 to elect its 16th Legislative Assembly, featuring 200 assembly constituencies. Meanwhile, Telangana is set to vote on November 30 for 119 Assembly constituencies. Vote counting for all four states plus Mizoram will take place on December 3.