Lok Sabha Election 2019: Busy with crucial Bhopal fight, Digvijaya Singh misses his vote

Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh was conspicuous with his absence as people stepped out to vote in Bhopal in the sixth and penultimate phase of voting today. Digvijaya is up against Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur whom the BJP has fielded from this prestige seat. The Congress candidate from the constituency Digvijaya Singh is a registered voter in Rajpur, which is about 130 km away from the state capital.

“I regret that I could not reach Rajgarh to cast my ballot. Next time, I will ensure that my vote is registered in Bhopal,” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI. The entire day, he was busy tracking the voting in several polling stations in the constituency.

The Congress candidate was seen outside a temple earlier in the day. When asked whether he would visit his constituency to cast his vote, he replied, “I will see. I will try to reach.” He did, however, urge voters to step out in large numbers and exercise their franchise. “Go in large numbers and cast your vote. Vote without fear,” he said.

At least 60.95 per cent voter turnout was reported during the sixth phase in the state’s eight constituencies today. Voting was held in Bhopal, Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha and Rajgarh constituencies in the state.

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Rajgarh recorded the highest turnout with 68.15 per cent. It was followed by Vidisha at 65.31 percent, Guna 64.80 percent, Bhopal 60.95 per cent, Sagar 60.42 per cent, Gwalior 56.03 per cent, Morena 54.36 per cent and Bhind 50.82 per cent, an official said. As per chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao, long queues were seen in several polling booths entire day. Meanwhile, Singh’s rival Thakur exercised her franchise at a polling booth in Rivera Town area in Bhopal in the morning. Another Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is once again contesting from Guna seat, exercised his right at a booth in the morning in Gwalior, a party spokesman said.