74.61 pc polling in Madhya Pradesh; 1,145 EVMs replaced

Altogether 74.61 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections Wednesday, a rise of around two per cent compared to the previous polls.

The figure may go up, state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao said. In the 2013 Assembly polls, it was 72.69 per cent, he added.

Polling was marred by complaints of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVVPAT) machines. Rao said 1,145 EVMs and 1,545 VVPATs were replaced after complaints of technical snags.

Polling was held between 8 am and 5 pm in 227 seats, while in three assembly segments - Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar - in the Naxal-affected Balaghat district, the voting time was between 7 am to 3 pm,
On reports that some EVMs were found in a hotel, Rao said, "We got information that a sector officer in Shujalpur was staying in a hotel along with ballot machines. On getting information, a team of officers reached the hotel and seized the machine. The officer concerned was removed (from poll duty) and the polling team was sent along with a new sector officer."