MP bypolls: Voting concludes amid mild violence & protests by BJP, Congress

Bhopal, Nov 13 Voting for the by-elections in Budhni and Vijaypur assembly seats of Madhya Pradesh concluded amid mild violence, protest and allegations of booth capturing on Wednesday.

According to the Election Commissioner, Vijaypur recorded 75 per cent voter turnout, while Budhni at 72 per cent.

Clashes between Congress and BJP workers that began with the start of the voting, remained till the end, especially in Vijaypur. Besides clashes and allegations of booth capturing, top leaders from both BJP and Congress staged protests at several places.

Congress state president Jitu Patwari and BJP state president V. D. Sharma sat on a dharna near the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s office in Bhopal, accusing each other’s party of fake voting and booth capturing.

Amid the tense situation, candidates of both ruling and opposition (BJP's Ramniwas Rawat and Congress' nominee Mukesh Malhotra) for Vijapur bypolls were put up at guest houses to prevent flare-ups and ensure peaceful voting.

"Candidates were taken a guest houses only as a precaution because tension was visible among the workers of the BJP and Congress," Sheopur district collector Kishor Kumar Kanyal said.

The by-election at Budhni in Sehore district has been necessitated, as the sitting BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned from the state Assembly after winning the Lok Sabha polls this year and becoming the Union Agriculture Minister.

The contest in Budhni is between BJP's Ramakant Bhargava and Congress' nominee and former minister Rajkumar Patel.

While the bypolls in Vijaypur was necessitated after Congress' sitting MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned from the party and the state Assembly.

He later joined the BJP and became the state forest minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's cabinet. BJP has fielded Rawat from Vijaypur, he had represented six times between 1990 and 2023.

The result of the by-elections will be announced on November 23.

Source: IANS