First phase:3 naxal-hit segments in Balaghat to vote till 4 pm

Three naxal-affected assembly segments in the Balaghat Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh will vote during 7 am to 4 pm in the first phase on April 29, a top election officer said here Monday.

Balaghat is one of the six seats that goes to poll in the first phase.

The poll timing for all the six seats, except Baiher, Lanji and Paraswada segments in Balaghat, will be between 7 am and 6 pm, said Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) VL Kantha Rao.

Besides Balaghat, Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, and Chhindwara vote on April 29.

Voting for all the 29 Lok Sabha seats is scheduled to be held in four phases during April 29--May 19 period.

"Voting in Baiher, Lanji and Paraswada assembly constituencies of Balaghat will be held between 7 am and 4 pm on April 29. In the rest five assembly segments, voting will be held between 7 am and 6 pm," the CEO told reporters.

Balaghat constituency, which covers Balaghat district and part of Seoni district, comprises eight assembly segments.

The CEO said the notification for the first phase of polling will be issued on April 2.

"The last date for filing of nomination papers in the first phase is April 9. Scrutiny of papers will be done on April 10, and the deadline for withdrawal from the fray is April 12," he added.