Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan announced that the state recorded a robust 77.82% voter turnout in the 2023 assembly elections, combining both Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and postal ballots. This marks a significant increase of 2.19% compared to the last assembly elections in 2018. Rajan shared this information during a press conference held in the state capital, Bhopal, on Friday.
Providing a breakdown of the voter turnout, Rajan highlighted that the Sailana assembly constituency in Ratlam district secured the highest voter turnout at 90.10%, while the Jobat assembly seat in Alirajpur district recorded the lowest at 54.37%. Seoni district received the highest voting percentage of 86.29%, while Alirajpur district had the minimum at 61.81%.
Rajan also outlined the preparations for the upcoming vote counting scheduled for December 3. He assured that all arrangements were in place, with observers appointed by the Election Commission of India having reached all 230 assembly constituencies. The counting of votes will occur at 52 district headquarters across the state.
Noting the accelerated process, Rajan mentioned that more tables than usual had been set up at various locations to expedite the announcement of results. It is estimated that results for all 230 seats will be declared within five to ten hours. A total of 4,369 tables will be allocated for counting votes, including 692 tables for postal ballot vote counting.
The officer outlined the counting procedure, stating that the process would commence at 8 am, beginning with the announcement of postal ballot votes. EVM counting would follow half an hour later, with results declared round-wise. Candidates or their representatives would receive round-wise information about votes, and live streaming of the counting process would not be allowed. Mobile phones would be prohibited during the counting of votes.
Rajan concluded the conference by sharing information about the voting-from-home facility, emphasizing that 51,259 people above 80 years of age and 12,093 individuals with over 40 percent disability availed this service.
Madhya Pradesh conducted polling for its 230 seats on November 17, and the much-anticipated counting of votes is set to take place on December 3.
