India assembly polls: Chhattisgarh records 67.34 pc voter turnout

India's Chhattisgarh on Friday (Nov 17) recorded 67.34 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm in its second phase of state assembly polls, the Election Commission (EC) said.

As per the data released by the election body, Ambikapur recorded a voter turnout of 65.05 per cent and Bharatpur Sonhat recorded 67.94 per cent, whereas Bilaspur recorded 56.28 per cent. The maximum voter turnout, till 5 pm IST,  was recorded at 82.60 per cent in the Kurud constituency.

EC said that this was the very first time all the polling booths in the Raipur North Assembly Constituency in Chhattisgarh were staffed and managed completely by women polling personnel.

Voter turnout in the Indian state was recorded at 55.31 per cent at 3 pm.

The second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh began in 70 Assembly constituencies spread over 22 districts in the State.

Approximately 958 candidates are in this fierce battle across 70 seats, for which the polling is being currently held.

In this first phase of the voting, which was held on Nov 7, the voter turnout was recorded at 70.87 per cent.

In Chhattisgarh, the polling will decide the fate of former Chief Minister Raman Singh and BJP leaders Bhawna Bohra, Lata Usendi and Gautam Uike. The notable Congress leaders in the battle in this phase include Mohammad Akbar, Savitri Manoj Mandavi, Mohan Markam, Vikram Mandavi and Kawasi Lakhma. 

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of  71.16 per cent at 5 pm.

At 3 pm, the percentage was recorded at 60.52.

Voting for 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh began at 7 am on Friday (Nov 17).

Nearly 5.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. It includes 2.87 crore male and 2.71 crore women voters. There are over 5,000 booths run by women and 183 polling stations run by the disabled, according to the officials.