Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): Voting in Khandwa district witnessed a 42.66 per cent turnout by 1 pm, with Pandhana seat recording highest participation at 48.9 per cent.
The voting which started at 7 am, continued till 6 pm across the four assembly seats of the districts. The district boasts 1,062 polling booths with 66 designated as sensitive receiving heightened security.
However, the democratic process faced challenges as voting was boycotted at four locations. In Kundleshwar of Pandhana's ward number 15 and Rasidpura village in Kondawat gram panchayat, voters protested against local issues such as road conditions, water supply, electricity and inadequate school infrastructure.
Despite intervention by tehsildar, villagers remained resolute in their decision. Similar boycotts occurred in Parethi and Padal Phata. Meanwhile, Mundi witnessed an incident of alleged hooliganism in ward no 1 (Pradhanbedi) during the night.
Congress leader Rajnarayan Singh accused BJP leaders of assaulting Congress workers engaged in preventing electoral malpractices. The police registered a case against Congress workers under section 188, despite claims of BJP leaders attacking and throwing money at them.
Technical glitches further marred the electoral process, with an EVM malfunction reported at polling booth number 181 in Namdev Dharamshala, causing a 40-minute delay.
It was alleged that the glitch occurred as first voter attempted to cast their vote, necessitating intervention from booth officials and presiding officer.
