MP Campaigning ends for October 30 bypolls BJP and Congress locked in straight contest
Bhopal Oct 27 PTI The high-decibel campaign for the October 30 bypolls to four constituencies in Madhya Pradesh including one Lok Sabha seat and three Assembly segments where 48 candidates are in the fray in a straight contest between ruling BJP and opposition Congress ended on Wednesday evening Of these four constituencies two seats including the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency were held by the BJP while the rest two seats were represented by Congress MLAs As per the poll schedule the silence period is 72 hours before the polling ends- 6 pm on October 30 Election Commission EC officials said polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in the four constituencies–Khandwa Lok Sabha seat and Assembly constituencies of Jobat ST in the Alirajpur district Raigaon SC in the Satna district and Prithvipur in the Niwari district 2650 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for these four seats where 3944 polling booths are being set up Of these 865 booths are declared sensitive while 361 will be under the surveillance of CCTV cameras the officials said Two ballot units will be deployed at each booth in Khandwa and Raigaon as the number of candidates exceeds 15 Overall 10027 ballot machines including those kept in the reserve will be used they said The counting of votes will be taken up on November 2 Meanwhile MPs Home Secretary Rajesh Rajora informed that 58 Special Armed Force SAF companies including eight from Madhya Pradesh will be deployed in the poll-bound constituencies to ensure peaceful polling Besides 914 police officers of DSP inspector sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector rank along with 6992 constables 3123 home guards and 3945 special police officers will be deployed during polling he said A total of 55 flying squads and 64 static surveillance teams will also be pressed into service In a high-octane campaign Union ministers Prahlad Patel Narendra Singh Tomar Jyotiraditya Scindia and former union minister Uma Bharti canvassed for the nominees of BJP At the state level Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state BJP chief VD Sharma led the campaign trail On the other hand it was relatively low-key electioneering for Congress Apart from former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh no other prominent leader participated in the campaigning except Rajasthans former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot who addressed a couple of rallies on Wednesday Congress mainly raised the issue of the shortage of fertilisers and accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of stopping the farm loan waiver scheme launched by the previous Kamal Nath-led government Nath had highlighted how farmers are queuing up at cooperative centres for getting fertiliser bags and police baton charging them at some places In the heat of campaigning Congress MLA from Badwaha assembly seat Sachin Birla joined the BJP Badwaha is a part of the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency In Khandwa the BJP has fielded former district panchayat president Gyaneshwar Patil denying a ticket to Harshvardhan Chauhan the son of sitting MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan whose demise necessitated the bypoll The Congress has fielded former MLA Rajnarayan Singh Purni In Jobat Sulochana Rawat is the BJPs nominee against Congress candidate Mahesh Patel The seat fell vacant due to the death of sitting Congress legislator Kalawati BhuriaRawat a former MLA joined the BJP recently after quitting Congress She had won Jobat constituency twice on Congresss ticket in 1998 and 2008 From Raigaon SC seat the BJP has fielded Pratima Bagri the daughter-in-law of sitting MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri whose death necessitated the bypoll who will face Congress Kalpana Verma Verma was defeated by late Jugal Kishore Bagri in the 2018 Assembly elections In Prithvipur the BJP has fielded former Samajwadi Party leader Shishupal Singh against Congresss Nitendra Rathore the son of former minister Brajendra Singh Rathore whose death necessitated the bypoll PTI ADU MAS NSK NSK
Bhopal Oct 27 PTI The high-decibel campaign for the October 30 bypolls to four constituencies in Madhya Pradesh including one Lok Sabha seat and three Assembly segments where 48 candidates are in the fray in a straight contest between ruling BJP and opposition Congress ended on Wednesday evening Of these four constituencies two seats including the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency were held by the BJP while the rest two seats were represented by Congress MLAs As per the poll schedule the silence period is 72 hours before the polling ends- 6 pm on October 30 Election Commission EC officials said polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in the four constituencies–Khandwa Lok Sabha seat and Assembly constituencies of Jobat ST in the Alirajpur district Raigaon SC in the Satna district and Prithvipur in the Niwari district 2650 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for these four seats where 3944 polling booths are being set up Of these 865 booths are declared sensitive while 361 will be under the surveillance of CCTV cameras the officials said Two ballot units will be deployed at each booth in Khandwa and Raigaon as the number of candidates exceeds 15 Overall 10027 ballot machines including those kept in the reserve will be used they said The counting of votes will be taken up on November 2 Meanwhile MPs Home Secretary Rajesh Rajora informed that 58 Special Armed Force SAF companies including eight from Madhya Pradesh will be deployed in the poll-bound constituencies to ensure peaceful polling Besides 914 police officers of DSP inspector sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector rank along with 6992 constables 3123 home guards and 3945 special police officers will be deployed during polling he said A total of 55 flying squads and 64 static surveillance teams will also be pressed into service In a high-octane campaign Union ministers Prahlad Patel Narendra Singh Tomar Jyotiraditya Scindia and former union minister Uma Bharti canvassed for the nominees of BJP At the state level Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state BJP chief VD Sharma led the campaign trail On the other hand it was relatively low-key electioneering for Congress Apart from former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh no other prominent leader participated in the campaigning except Rajasthans former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot who addressed a couple of rallies on Wednesday Congress mainly raised the issue of the shortage of fertilisers and accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of stopping the farm loan waiver scheme launched by the previous Kamal Nath-led government Nath had highlighted how farmers are queuing up at cooperative centres for getting fertiliser bags and police baton charging them at some places In the heat of campaigning Congress MLA from Badwaha assembly seat Sachin Birla joined the BJP Badwaha is a part of the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency In Khandwa the BJP has fielded former district panchayat president Gyaneshwar Patil denying a ticket to Harshvardhan Chauhan the son of sitting MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan whose demise necessitated the bypoll The Congress has fielded former MLA Rajnarayan Singh Purni In Jobat Sulochana Rawat is the BJPs nominee against Congress candidate Mahesh Patel The seat fell vacant due to the death of sitting Congress legislator Kalawati BhuriaRawat a former MLA joined the BJP recently after quitting Congress She had won Jobat constituency twice on Congresss ticket in 1998 and 2008 From Raigaon SC seat the BJP has fielded Pratima Bagri the daughter-in-law of sitting MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri whose death necessitated the bypoll who will face Congress Kalpana Verma Verma was defeated by late Jugal Kishore Bagri in the 2018 Assembly elections In Prithvipur the BJP has fielded former Samajwadi Party leader Shishupal Singh against Congresss Nitendra Rathore the son of former minister Brajendra Singh Rathore whose death necessitated the bypoll PTI ADU MAS NSK NSK
