Madhya Pradesh Sees Moderate Voter Turnout in First Phase of Lok Sabha Elections

## Madhya Pradesh Sees Moderate Voter Turnout in First Phase of Lok Sabha Elections

Madhya Pradesh witnessed a 67.08 percent voter turnout in the first phase of polling for six parliamentary seats on Friday, April 20th. The Election Commission released data confirming the figures.

Chhindwara emerged as the frontrunner with a 79.18 percent turnout, followed by Balaghat at 73.18 percent and Mandla at 72.49 percent. Shahdol recorded a 63.73 percent turnout, Jabalpur at 60.52 percent, and Sidhi at 55.19 percent.

However, all six constituencies witnessed a decline in voter turnout compared to the 2019 general elections. In the previous Lok Sabha polls, Chhindwara had topped the chart with 82.39 percent, followed by Mandla at 77.76 percent, Balaghat at 77.61 percent, Shahdol at 74.73 percent, Jabalpur at 69.43 percent, and Sidhi at 69.50 percent.

Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Rajan, stated that voting proceeded peacefully at all 13,588 polling stations. A minor dispute between two parties in Chhindwara was quickly controlled by the police. No significant violence was reported across the state.

The Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh will be conducted in four phases. The next three phases of voting are scheduled for April 26th, May 7th, and May 13th. The counting of votes will take place on June 4th.

With 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Madhya Pradesh is the sixth-largest state in terms of representation in the Lower House. Of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.