62.28 per cent voter turnout recorded in nine LS seats in Madhya Pradesh till 5 pm

By 5 pm, 62.28 per cent votes were cast, as per the Election Commission data.

Voting in nine parliamentary seats of Madhya Pradesh, including Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal, Rajgarh, and Betul, is underway in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, as per the Election Commission.

Rajgarh continued to record the highest voter turnout with 72.08 per cent voting as of 5 pm, followed by Vidisha 69.20 per cent, Guna 68.93 per cent, Betul 67.97 per cent, Sagar 61.70 per cent, Bhopal 58.42 per cent, Gwalior 57.86 per cent, Morena 55.25 per cent and Bhind at 50.96 per cent.

During the second phase of voting on April 26, the state recorded 46.50 per cent voting till 3 pm, and the final voter turnout stood at 58.59 per cent in the second phase of polling in the state.

Similarly, during the first phase of polling on April 19, the state received 53.40 per cent voting till 3 pm, and the final voter turnout stood at 67.75 per cent in the first phase of polling in the state.

Earlier in the day, addressing the press conference, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan said that the polling for the third phase started at the scheduled time in the state after the mock poll, and the polling was going on peacefully in the state.

"Today, the polling in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections started at 7 am at all the polling stations of the nine parliamentary seats in the state. The polling is going on peacefully across the state. The voter turnout stood at 30.21 per cent in the first four hours till 11 am in the state. During the previous 2019 general elections, the polling percentage was 27.83 per cent in the third phase till 11 am," Anupam Rajan said.

During the mock poll, some Balloting Units (BU), Control Units (CU), and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) faced problems and they were replaced.

There were a total of 104 BUs, 98 CUs, and 164 VVPATs that were replaced, the officer said, adding that after the beginning of polling, a total of 14 BUs, 12 CUs, and 40 VVPATs were changed which reported issues.

Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19, and the second phase was concluded on April 26.

The fourth, which is the last phase of LS polls in the state, will be held on May 13. 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)