Bhopal: A moderate 54.41 per cent polling was recorded on Thursday in Madhya Pradesh for ten Lok Sabha seats amid rains, intense heat conditions and poll boycott in some villages.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia of Congress and state BJP President Narendra Singh Tomar were among prominent candidates whose fate was locked in EVMs in the second phase where voting was largely peaceful.
This year`s turnout was 8.20 per cent higher than the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when the figure was 46.21, election office sources said.
The maximum polling was recorded in Rajgarh (63.40%) while the lowest in Bhind-SC (45.16%), they said.
Voters in some villages spread across a few constituencies boycotted polling to highlight lack of development in their areas and for not getting compensation from the government for their damaged crops.
In Guna, where Scindia is pitted against BJP`s Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya, the voter turnout was 61.11 per cent, about 7 per cent higher than 2009.
Polling in other constituencies was Morena (51.67%), Gwalior (50.78%), Sagar (59.08%), Tikamgarh-SC (50.67%), Damoh (54.06%), Khajuraho (50.11%) and Bhopal (58.42%).
Besides Scindia and Tomar (Gwalior), others in the fray included former Minister and ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s nephew Anoop Mishra (Morena), former IAS officer Bhagirath Prasad who joined BJP a day after getting Congress ticket from Bhind, ex-Union Minister Prahlad Patel (Damoh), former Minister Nagendra Singh (Khajuraho) and Rajgarh sitting MP Narayan Singh Amlabe, who is considered close to Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh.
The Election Commission had deployed 1.20 lakh polling staff and a large number of central and state police forces, especially in dacoit-hit Chambal region.
In the first phase, polling was held in nine constituencies on April 10 in the state, which has 28 Lok Sabha seats. The third and final phase of polling for remaining ten seats will be held on April 24.
