Madhya Pradesh polls: 26% voting recorded till noon

Polling remains by and large peaceful barring a few stray incidents at some places

Around 26 per cent of polling has been recorded till noon in the 230 Assembly constituencies of Madhya Pradesh where elections are being held today.

Polling was by and large peaceful barring a few stray incidents at some places, state Chief Electoral Officer Jaideep Govind said.

Firing was reported between two groups from Lahar constituency in Bhind district, an EVM was broken by people in Bhind constituency, while an EVM was looted in Dhasdua village in Morena district, Govind said, adding that law and order situation was under control across the state.

Polling was boycotted by people at some stations in nine Assembly constituencies including Hoshangabad, Ratlam, Gwalior, Raisen and Umaria, he said.

There were reports that some EVMs were not functioning properly at polling stations in 15 constituencies including Chhindwara, Shahdo, Rewa, Indore, Badwani, Panna and Sidhi, he said, adding that the faulty EVMs have been replaced.

An assistant poll official in Katni district's Vijayraghogarh seat, K B Shrivastava, died of a heart attack early today, sources said.

He suffered heart attack at around 5 AM following which he was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed.

The district returning officer has replaced him with the reserve staff.

A total of 2,583 candidates are trying their luck in the polls being held in 53,896 polling booths in 51 districts.

The BJP government led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan is fighting for an unprecedented third consecutive victory.