MP polls: Narendra Singh Tomar casts vote, says there is a BJP wave in State

GWALIOR: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, Narendra Singh Tomar cast his vote and said that there was a wave of the BJP in the State.

Tomar made the remark while talking to reporters in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district on Friday after casting his vote for the State assembly polls.

"There is a wave of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. The atmosphere is in favour of the BJP. People are liking the schemes and development works of the Central Government and State Government. On the basis of it, I can say with confidence that the BJP will form the government with a clear majority in the State. I have cast my vote and here also the atmosphere is in favour of the BJP," Tomar said.

Tomar is in the fray from the Dimani assembly seat in Morena district in the state assembly polls. Taking about Dimani's seat, the BJP leader said, "Dimani's picture is also good and its fortune is also good. Madhya Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 27.62 per cent while neighbouring Chhattisgarh saw 19.65 percent polling in the second phase till 11 am on Friday, the Election Commission informed on Friday.

Voting for Madhya Pradesh's all 230 assembly seats began at 7 am today. The voters can cast their ballots until 6 pm, except in the Baihar, Lanji, and Paraswada assembly seats of Balaghat district and some booths in Mandla and Dindori districts, where voting will be held till 3 pm.

BJP is seeking to retain power in the state where it has ruled for almost 18 of the past 20 years and Congress is keen to oust the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

The webcasting facility has been made available at about 42,000 polling stations.

Nearly 700 companies of the Central forces and two lakh police personnel of the State have been deployed for security during the poll.

The election will decide the electoral fate of over 2,500 candidates.

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, officials said.

The counting of votes for the five states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram will be done on December 3.