Madhya Pradesh polls 2018: Faulty EVMs, VVPAT machines cause glitches

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan voted with his family in Jait village under Bhudni constituency. He is contesting against Congress’ Arun Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2018 : Polling is underway for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday. Several faulty EVMs and VVPAT machines have been replaced within the first hour, officials said.

In Ujjain, two faulty electronic voting machines (EVMs) and 11 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were replaced by the Election Commission officials.In Bhuranpur constituency, five VVPATs and two faulty EVMs were replaced by 9 a.m.

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Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan voted with his family in Jait village under Bhudni constituency. He is contesting against Congress’ Arun Yadav.State Congress chief Kamal Nath also casted his vote, after a temple visit along with his family, at a polling booth in Chhindwara.

Polling began at 7 am for three Maoist-affected constituencies in Balaghat district, while votes were cast in the remaining 227 assembly seats starting 8 a.m.Polling would end in the three constituencies — Baihar, Lanji and Paraswada — at 3 p.m, while it would continue till 5 p.m. in all the other constituencies.

Madhya Pradesh polls : Can Modi, Shah’s skill, MP CM’s image save BJP?

BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Congress-ruled Mizoram vote to decide on new state government. Track Assembly elections 2018 LIVE updates here

Voting for Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram Assembly elections is underway. Till 10 am, Mizoram had recorded 25 per cent voting. BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia were among early voters. Several EVMs and VVPAT machines were found to be faulty in Madhya Pradesh and had to be replaced. The Congress is trying to wrest Madhya Pradesh from the three-term holder Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while in Mizoram, the BJP is hoping to break the ground and play the kingmaker, if not the king, by supporting regional parties in today’s election. The battle of ballots in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram is just months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls slated in the first half of 2019. Results of the Assembly polls 2018 will be declared on December 11.

Key candidates and constituencies in Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2018

MP is voting to elect a 230-member Assembly, for which as many as 2,899 candidates, including 1,094 independents, are in the fray. BJP is contesting all the 230 seats, while the Congress has fielded 229 candidates, leaving one seat, Jatara in Tikamgarh district, for its ally — Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD). Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in office since 2005, is seeking re-election from Budhni in Sehore district. The BSP has fielded 227 candidates, while the SP is contesting on 52 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), contesting the Madhya Pradesh elections for the first time, has fielded 208 candidates.

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