36 pct voting till 2 pm; 745 EVMs, VVPATs replaced after malfunctioning in MP polls

Nearly 36 per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 2 pm Wednesday in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections which were marred by complaints of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at some places.

Around 745 EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were replaced after complaints of technical snags, MP's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V L Kantha Rao said.

He also said that around 36 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 2 pm.

Following complaints of malfunctioning of EVMs, senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia demanded that the Election Commission make up for the time wasted in replacing faulty EVMs by extending the polling time in the booths concerned.

"I want that the EC should compensate for the time lost in replacing the EVMs. It should extend voting time at places where EVMs failed to work," he told reporters after landing in Gwalior to cast his vote.

"I have already spoken to Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat and MP Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao on this issue over the phone," the Lok Sabha member from the state's Guna seat said.

Scindia said he wanted maximum people to cast their vote.

State Congress chief Kamal Nath also expressed concern over complaints of technical snags in EVMs.

"Several reports are coming from across the state that EVMs are not working. This has been affecting the polling. Long queues are being witnessed in the city. EC should immediately take a decision. The EVMs should be changed," he said in a tweet.

Polling is being held from 8 am to 5 pm in 227 seats, while in three Assembly segments of Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar in the Naxal-affected Balaghat district, the voting time is from 7 am to 3 pm.

Two polling officials have died due to health issues while performing their duties in Indore and Guna districts, Rao said.

The families of these employees would be given an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each, he said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate from Budhni seat, and his wife Sadhana Singh cast their votes at his native village Jait, which is part of his Assembly constituency.

Earlier, Chouhan also offered prayers at a local temple.

The Congress has fielded former Union minister Arun Yadav against Chouhan.

Kamal Nath cast his vote in Chhindwara district while the party's campaign committee chief Scindia exercised his franchise in Gwalior.

Rao said polling was going on peacefully in all the Assembly constituencies and long queues were seen in the Naxal-affected seats and other places.

As many as 2,899 candidates, including 1,094 Independents, are in the fray for the 230 seats, but the main contest is between the Congress and BJP – the Big Two of MP politics.

The state has 5.04 crore, eligible voters.

Over three lakh government employees, including nearly 45,000 women, are on poll duty across the state.

As many as 1.80 lakh security personnel, including those drawn from central paramilitary forces, have also been deployed to ensure free and fair poll, Rao said.

(With inputs from agencies.)