Datia, July 30 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly by-election concluded peacefully on Thursday with a voter turnout of 71.44 per cent recorded till 6 p.m., nearly nine percentage points lower than the 80.2 per cent polling registered in the 2023 Assembly election, according to the Election Commission.
District Collector and Returning Officer Swapnil Wankhede said polling at all 291 polling stations concluded without any untoward incident despite intermittent rainfall across parts of the constituency.
“Polling at all 291 polling stations was conducted peacefully. Despite the rain, voters came out to exercise their democratic right, and there was no disturbance or law and order issue reported from any part of the constituency,” Wankhede told reporters after polling concluded.
More than 2.20 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election. According to the Election Commission, 231 polling stations had been identified as critical and 28 as vulnerable, prompting elaborate security arrangements.
Wankhede said the electronic voting machines (EVMs), which had undergone mandatory pre-poll testing, functioned smoothly throughout the day. “All EVMs had been thoroughly tested before polling, and they worked without any technical fault during the election. Wherever minor issues related to polling equipment arose, they were resolved immediately to ensure that voting continued smoothly,” he added.
Heavy rainfall also led to waterlogging at a few polling stations, but the district administration made alternative arrangements to ensure that polling was not affected.
During polling, the Congress alleged bogus voting in Sirol and Jigna villages. Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh also accused a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) polling agent of attempting booth capturing at polling station number 51.
However, the BJP dismissed the allegations, with senior party leader and former state Home Minister Narottam Mishra claiming the Congress habitually levels such accusations whenever it senses electoral defeat.
The bypoll, necessitated by the disqualification of former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti following his conviction in a fraud case, witnessed a direct contest between BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari and Congress nominee Ghanshyam Singh.
The counting of votes will take place on August 3. Personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Armed Force (SAF), and Madhya Pradesh Police were deployed at sensitive locations, while election officials continuously monitored the polling process.
In the 2023 election, Rajendra Bharti had defeated senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra by 7,742 votes.
–IANS
pd/dan
