Bhopal: Six of the 29 Parliamentary constituencies in Madhya Pradesh will elect their representatives in the first phase of voting for Lok Sabha elections in the state on Monday. Of the six constituencies in the Vindhya Pradesh and Mahakaushal regions, five were won by the BJP in the 2014 polls and one by the Congress.
Around 1.05 crore voters will exercise their franchise in the Sidhi, Jabalpur, Shahdol, Balaghat, Mandla and Chhindwara constituencies. A total of 108 candidates are contesting from these six constituencies. In addition, voting will also be held in the Chhindwara assembly constituency, from where CM Kamal Nath is in the fray.
The top leaders whose political fate will be sealed in the EVMs on Monday, besides Kamal Nath, include former leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Ajay Singh (Sidhi), renowned lawyer and Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha (Jabalpur), BJP state chief Rakesh Singh (Jabalpur) and former union minister Phaggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla).
Voting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm. In three assembly segments of the Balaghat constituency – Baihar, Lanjhi and Paraswada – voting will conclude at 4 pm so as to enable the poll parties to reach their headquarters before dark.
These segments have naxal presence and hence the precaution. Except Chhindwara, all the other seats were won by the BJP in the last elections. The winners were Riti Pathak (Sidhi), Rakesh Singh (Jabalpur), Gyan Singh (Shahdol), Bodh Singh Bhagat (Balaghat), Phaggan Singh Kulaste.
