Bhopal, April 20 (IANS) The six out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls in the first phase of the general elections in Madhya Pradesh on Friday recorded a voter turnout of more than 63 percent, with the highest in Chhindwara at 82.39 percent.
The voter turnout in the state’s Maoist-hit Lok Sabha constituencies — Mandla and Balaghat recorded at 73.85 percent and 72.15 percent respectively, till 7 p.m.
The people from tribal communities came out to vote in large numbers as all three tribal-dominated seats — Chhindwara, Mandla, and Balaghat recorded more than 70 percent voter turnout.
Other three Lok Sabha constituencies polled in the first phase of the general elections — Shahdol (Scheduled Tribe) voter turnout at 63.23 percent, Jabalpur at 60 percent, and Sidhi recorded the lowest at 54.36 percent.
The State’s Electoral Office, however, was yet to release a final update on voter turnout in the state as polling went till late Friday evening and therefore, voting percentage may see a little surge later.
The elections for the state’s 29 Lok Sabha seats are scheduled in four phases.
The first phase concluded on Friday while the second phase covering six more Lok Sabha constituencies, mostly in the Bundelkhand region, will be held on April 26.
The third and fourth phase elections will be conducted on May 7 and 13 and the results will be announced on June 4.
–IANS
pd/khz
