The stage is all set for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on 19 April at six of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan informed mediapersons on Thursday that 13,588 polling booths have been set up in the six constituencies. “Of these, 1,118 booths would be operated by women and 33 by specially abled officials,” the CEO said.

He stated that all preparations are in place to ensure free and fair voting from 7 am to 6 pm on Friday.

Polls in the three assembly constituencies – Baihar, Lanji and Paraswada, part of naxalite-hit Balaghat parliamentary constituency – would take place between 7 am and 4 pm due to security reasons.

Mr Rajan said that 88 candidates including 81 men and seven women are in the fray in the first phase.

The CEO said that in the first phase, Chhindwara, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Sidhi and Shahdol and Mandla – both reserved for Scheduled Tribes – would go to polls.

The highest number of candidates is in Jabalpur at 19 and the lowest number of 10 candidates are in the fray at Shahdol.

He said that the total number of voters in the six constituencies was 1,13,09, 636. Of them, 57,20,780 were male, 55,88,669 female and 187 were third gender.

Rajan said that the six LS seats are stretched across 27 assembly constituencies and 13 districts of the state.

All preparations for shelters from heat, drinking water and Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) availability, toilets, security and other necessities have been made at the polling booths.

He said that a helicopter at the naxal hit Balaghat district and an air ambulance had been stationed at Jabalpur to meet any eventuality.

The CEO said that 192 flying squad teams (FSTs), 233 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) are going to keep a close watch in the six constituencies.

He informed that 61.57 per cent voting was recorded in Madhya Pradesh in the 2014 general elections and 71.16 per cent in 2019.

The CEO said that the aim this year was to achieve at least 77.82 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha polls, which was the percentage recorded in the November 2023 MP assembly polls.

The second, third and fourth phase of elections in MP will take place on April 26, May 7 and May 13.

In 2019, the BJP won 28 Lok Sabha seats out of 29 in MP, with the Congress winning the sole seat of Chhindwara, where Nakul Nath, son of former MP CM Kamal Nath, had won.