Madhya Pradesh: Voting begins for Damoh assembly bypoll

New Delhi: The voting for the bypoll in the Damoh assembly seat of Madhya Pradesh began on Saturday (April 17, 2021) where a total of 22 candidates are in the fray. 

The polling started at 7 AM and will conclude at 7 PM.

The main contest in the Damoh assembly seat is between Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rahul Lodhi and Congress' Ajay Tandon. 

This is pertinent to note that the bypoll has been necessitated as Lodhi, who won from Damoh on a Congress ticket in 2018, resigned from the assembly and the party in October 2020, just ahead of the November 3 by-elections on over two dozen seats, and joined the BJP.

On the other hand, Congress' Tandon had earlier contested from the seat twice unsuccessfully against senior BJP senior leader and former minister Jayant Mallaiya.

Campaigning for Lodhi was led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma, whereas, Congress senior leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh, among others, sought votes for Ajay Tandon.

As per officials, a total of 2,39,709 voters, including 1,15,408 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 359 polling booths.

The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

Madhya Pradesh had earlier witnessed bypolls on 28 assembly seats in November in 2020, where over 25 of these seats fell vacant after their sitting Congress MLAs switched sides and joined the BJP after a revolt led by Jyotiraditya Scindia. Out of the 28 seats, the BJP had won 19 and Congress took nine.

(With inputs from agencies)