Lok Sabha poll 2024: Madhya Pradesh records 59.63 pc voter turnout till 3 pm

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 13 (ANI): A voter turnout of 59.63 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the fourth phase of polling for eight parliamentary seats in the state, according to the data released by the Election Commission.
Voting in eight parliamentary seats of Madhya Pradesh - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa - is underway from 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
Among the eight constituencies, Khargone is leading in terms of voter turnout of 63.84 per cent at 3 pm. It is followed by Dewas at 63.08 per cent, Ratlam (62.78 per cent), Mandsaur at (61.58 per cent), Ujjain (60.83 per cent), Dhar (60.18 per cent), Khandwa (59.87 per cent), and Indore (48.04 per cent).
Earlier, the voter turnout was recorded at 48.52 per cent till 1 pm, 32.38 per cent till 11 am and 14.97 per cent voting till 9 am in the fourth and last phase of LS polls 2024 in the state.
During the third phase of voting on May 7, the state recorded 54.09 per cent voting till 3 pm and the final voter turnout stood at 66.75 per cent.
Addressing the press conference, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan said that the polling for the fourth phase started at the scheduled time in the state after the mock poll, and the polling was going on peacefully in the state.
"Today, voting is being held at 18,007 polling stations of eight parliamentary constituencies in the fourth and the final phase of LS poll 2024 in the state. The mock poll was conducted in the presence of polling agents at the polling stations as per the prescribed procedure on Monday morning," Rajan said.
During the mock poll, some Balloting Unit (BU), Control Unit (CU) and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) faced problems and they were replaced. A total of 47 BUs, 48 CUs and 90 VVPATs replaced, the officer said, adding that after the beginning of actual polling from 7 am, a total of 13 BUs, 13 CUs, 35 VVPATs were changed which reported issues.
"The voter turnout stood at 32.38 per cent in the first four hours till 11 am in the state. During the previous 2019 general elections, the polling percentage was 29.48 per cent in the fourth phase till 11am," Rajan said.
Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19, the second phase took place on April 26 and the third phase concluded on May 7.
The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
With 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Madhya Pradesh ranks sixth among all states in terms of its representation in the Lower House. Of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved. (ANI)