Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The much-talked-about elections to the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), on Wednesday, saw a mere 60.88 per cent polling (close to the 2015 figure of 62.78%), whereas the voting percentage in eight other urban bodies in the district stood at 76.02.
Voting in the city was by and large peaceful, except for clashes among workers of the BJP and the Congress in Assembly constituencies 2 and 4. At ward No. 22, supporters of Congress candidate Raju Bhadoriya attacked the car of BJP candidate Chandu Shinde while he was heading towards a polling station. The incident brought workers of both the parties face to face and the police had to resort to a mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
Similarly, a Congress worker was thrashed by BJP MLA Malini Gaud’s son, Eklavya, and his supporters when he objected to allowing a person to cast the vote.
The elections to the mayoral post had drawn national attention as the Congress candidate, Sanjay Shukla, had announced that he would get five bridges constructed on his own and give a compensation of Rs 20,000 to poor people who had got hospitalised due to coronavirus infection on his own. The BJP’s mayoral candidate is Pushyamitra Bhargav.
District polls peaceful
Elections to the 85 wards of IMC and also to the municipal councils of eight other districts were held peacefully. All sections of society voted with great enthusiasm. From youths to the elderly—all voters contributed their share by voting in this great Festival of Democracy. Enthusiasm for voting was seen since morning. Voters queued up and cast their votes peacefully at the polling stations. Various arrangements were made at the polling stations for the convenience of the voters. Tight security arrangements were also in place.
According to preliminary information received from the District Election Office, out of a total of 1,835,317 voters in the IMC area, a total of 1,117,300 voters exercised their franchise.
Election to 8 municipal councils were also held
Similarly, out of a total of 123,532 voters in the eight municipal councils, 93,908 voters exercised their franchise. According to provisional information, more than 76% voting has taken place in the eight city councils. The highest percentage of voting (87.9) was in the district in the municipal council of Hatod.
Polling %-age of 8 municipal councils
Municipal Council Polling %
Betma 82.85
Depalpur 78.3
Gautampura 82.83
Hatod 87.9
Mhowgaon 68.4
Manpur 79.95
Rau 74.17
Sanwer 72.16
Constituency-wise poll percentage
Constituency Polling Percentage
Indore 1 63.88%
Indore 2 58.31%
Indore 3 61.65%
Indore 4 63.79%
Indore 5 58.06%
Rau 61.36%
Total 60.88%
