The process of filing nominations for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections has commenced with the issuance of the election notification. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state is set to hold elections in a single phase on November 17, with vote counting scheduled for December 3. Here are the key details regarding the nomination process and the state’s voter demographics:
Nomination Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections Timeline:
•Nomination Filing: Candidates can file their nominations from October 21 to October 30.
•Scrutiny: Nomination scrutiny will be conducted on October 31.
•Nomination Withdrawal: Candidates have the option to withdraw their nominations until November 2.
•Over 5.60 crore voters are eligible to participate in the state elections.
•Of these voters, 2,88,25,607 are male, 2,72,33,945 are female, and 1,373 belong to the third gender category. The number of service voters stands at 75,303, with 73,020 men and 2,284 women, bringing the total number of voters to 5,61,36,229. There are 6,53,640 senior citizen voters and 5,05,146 ‘divyang’ (specially-abled) voters, along with 99 non-resident Indian (NRI) voters.
•The focus of political parties remains on the voters currently residing in the state, totaling 5,60,60,925, after addition and deletion of names.
•The age-wise breakdown of voters is as follows: 18-19 years (22,36,564), 20-29 (1,41,76,780), 30-39 (1,45,03,508), 40-49 (1,06,97,673), 50-59 (74,85,436), 60-69 (43,45,064), 70-79 (19,72,260), 80+ (6,53,640).
Some areas recorded significant voter turnout variations in the 2018 assembly polls. For instance, the Ratlam district’s Sailana constituency saw the highest turnout at 89.13%, while Alirajpur district’s Jobat segment witnessed the lowest turnout at 52.84%.
The Lakhnadoun assembly seat in Seoni district has the highest number of polling booths at 407, while the Indore-3 assembly constituency has the lowest at 193.
Election Dynamics:
The Congress party has announced its candidates for 229 seats, while the BJP has declared its candidates for 136 seats. Other parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are also participating in the elections.
In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress secured 114 seats, forming a coalition government under Kamal Nath with the support of the SP, the BSP, and independent candidates.
However, the Nath government fell after 15 months when some Congress MLAs, mainly loyal to Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, switched to the BJP.
The BJP returned to power in March 2020, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan serving as the chief minister.
As the election season unfolds, the focus will be on the campaigning efforts of political parties and candidates vying for a majority in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh state assembly. The state’s diverse voter demographics will play a significant role in shaping the electoral outcome.
