Held discussions on preparations for counting day: Madhya Pradesh CM

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bhopal on Tuesday, ahead of the counting of votes for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections on December 3. Chouhan said, "We held discussions with the candidates and also prepared for the counting day."

Earlier on Tuesday, re-polling at a polling booth in Kishupura village in Madhya Pradesh's Ater constituency in Bhind district was held following the orders of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The ECI ordered re-polling at booth number three under polling centre number 71 in Kishupura village in the district on Sunday. The re-polling is being done after Madhya Pradesh Cooperative and Public Service Management Minister Arvind Singh Bhadoria filed a complaint and requested a repoll at more than half a dozen polling stations. On the complaint of Minister Bhadoria, the Returning Officer (RO) of Ater Constituency, Parag Jain conducted the investigation and recommended re-polling at a polling booth to District Election Officer Sanjeev Shrivastava.

The action was taken against polling agents Satendra Singh Bhadauria, Santosh Singh and their two unknown associates for violating the secrecy of voting, violating the Model Code of Conduct, obstructing government work and influencing the voting work. On the other hand, Presiding Officer Satish Kumar, Polling Officer Yogendra Singh Bansal, Polling Officer Pankaj Jayant posted at the polling booth were suspended.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arvind Singh Bhadoria, who is also the sitting MLA from Ater, is contesting against former MLA Hemant Katare of the Congress party. Voting for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly took place on November 17 with a 71.16 per cent voter turnout. The second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections took place on the same date. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 3.