Assembly polls: Chhattisgarh sees 70% voter turnout, Madhya Pradesh 73.84%

Chhattisgarh on Friday recorded a provisional voter turnout of 70.49 per cent in the second phase of assembly elections for 70 constituencies, while Madhya Pradesh saw a polling of 73.84 per cent.

In Chhattisgarh, a jawan of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was killed in an explosion triggered by Naxalites in Gariaband district. The incident occurred when a polling station, accompanied by security personnel, was returning after conducting the vote.

In the 2018 parliamentary elections, a turnout of 76.62 percent was recorded in 72 seats in the second phase. This time, two of these constituencies featured in the first phase of elections on November 7. In the last parliamentary elections, parliament recorded a turnout of 75.63 percent.

A highlight of the Chhattisgarh elections saw all-women teams managing all 201 polling booths in Raipur (North), a first in the country’s electoral history, the Election Commission (EC) said. The EC added that 1,046 women were deployed in the 201 polling booths.

“These all-female polling booths provided a sense of comfort and security to all voters, especially women and voters of the third gender, for more inclusive elections,” the EC said in a statement.

Seventy assembly seats in Chhattisgarh went to polls in the second phase on Friday, while elections were held in all 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. The first phase of elections for the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly took place on November 7.

The Sonewani polling station in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat Assembly seat recorded a 100 percent voter turnout with all 42 voters – 26 women and 16 men – casting their votes, the EC said.

The EC said it has made concerted efforts to facilitate voting among the members of the tribal communities.

This resulted in 100 percent enrollment among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.