BHOPAL: The just-concluded assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh witnessed a record polling of 76.22 percent, officials said on Saturday.
The latest polling figure was released by the election commission (EC) late on Friday night.
The polling recorded in the 2023 assembly elections in the state is 0.59 percent more than that of the 2018 assembly polls.
“The voter turnout this time is the highest in the electoral history of Madhya Pradesh”, an officer of the chief electoral office (CEO) here said.
While Seoni district in the state has recorded the highest voter turnout of 85.68 percent, the tribal-dominated Alirajpur district in Western Madhya Pradesh recorded the lowest polling of 60.10 percent.
Naxal-infested Balaghat district has recorded the second highest voter turnout of 85.23 percent despite the poll boycott call given by the Maoists.
The polling trend in the last four assembly elections Madhya Pradesh has revealed that the voter turnout percentage has been increasing steadily in the state.
It was 67.25 percent in 2003, 69.78 percent in 2008, 72.13 percent in 2013 and 75.63 percent in 2018.
BJP won the assembly elections in the state thrice since 2003 and lost power to Congress in the 2018 assembly polls.
BJP had polled 42.50 percent votes in 2003, 38.09 percent votes in 2008, 45.19 percent votes in 2013 and 41.02 percent votes in 2018.
The Congress had polled 31.70 percent votes in 2003, 32.85 percent votes in 2008, 36.70 percent votes in 2013 and 40.89 percent votes in 2018.
Congress had secured 114 seats, two short of majority in the house, in the 2018 assembly polls and formed the government in the state with the help of two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs, one Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator and four independents.
BJP had bagged 109 seats, five seats less than Congress, in the last assembly elections.
The Congress government however lasted barely 15 months owing to the resignation of 22 party MLAs from the assembly in March 2020.
They later joined BJP.
The final figure on the voter turnout in the second and final phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh is 76.31 percent which is 0.08 percent less than that of 2018 assembly elections in the state.
Seventy out of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh assembly went to polls in the second and final phase of polling on Friday whereas 20 seats went to polls in the state in the first phase on November seven.
