BJP or Congress? Chouhan or Nath? MP ready for Dec 3 vote count
EVMs will decide the fate of 2,533 candidates who were in the fray for 230 Assembly seats; BJP and Congress were the main contestants
Madhya Pradesh is all set to count on Sunday the millions of votes polled in elections to pick a new 230-member Assembly, with most exit polls giving the BJP an edge over the Congress.
The elections were held in the state on November 17. A record 77.82 per cent of the electorate voted — 2.19 per cent more than in 2018.
The counting for all 230 assembly constituencies will start at 8 am on Sunday (December 3) at 52 district headquarters.
“All necessary preparations for the counting have been made,” said an official in Bhopal.
Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh Anupam Rajan said 692 tables have been placed for the counting of postal ballots in all districts and 4,369 tables to place the EVMs.
Soon after the postal ballots are counted, its result will be declared candidate-wise. The exercise will be followed after the completion of each round of counting, Rajan said.
Three-tier security
At 26, Jhabua seat will see the highest number of counting rounds. The lowest number of 12 rounds will be held in Sevda constituency in Datia district.
A three-tier security arrangement will be in place.
Rajan said 51,259 citizens above 80 years and 12,093 physically challenged voters polled from home this time.
About 3.04 lakh personnel engaged in polling work exercised their franchise through postal ballots.
The EVMs will decide the electoral fate of 2,533 candidates who were in the fray for the 230 assembly seats.
These include chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor and rival Kamal Nath. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress were the main contestants.
Others in the race from the BJP included general secretary Kailash Vijaywrgiya and Lok Sabha MPs: Rakesh Singh, Ganesh Singh and Riti Pathak.
Other parties who also fought the elections were the Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party. The votes earned by their candidates will be crucial in deciding the winner from any constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi were among those who addressed campaign rallies in the state.
(With agency inputs)
