Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023 Voting Latest Updates: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited Gwalior to cast his ballot during the Assembly polls today. Speaking to media persons outside the polling booth, Scindia said that he was not in the race to become Chief Minister. The BJP leader said that there is no such race in BJP. The only race that the party is concerned about the race is for development.

In a sharp swipe at the Congress, Scindia said that ‘Kursi ka race Congress ki hai.’ He reiterated that he was and never will be in the fray to become Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. “”I have always said that I am not in the race for the Chief Minister. I was never in the race, neither in 2013, 2018 or 2023,” Scindia was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Voting commenced at 7 am across all 230 constituencies in the state, encompassing 47 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 35 for Scheduled Castes (SC), according to an official statement.

Notable figures who cast their votes early included Chouhan and his family, Nath and his family, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, state BJP president VD Sharma, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, home minister Narottam Mishra, sports and youth welfare minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, industries minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, and the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan.

Jaivardhan Singh, son of senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and former minister, who is contesting from Raghogarh, also voted alongside his family.

In various polling booths across the state, women were observed patiently waiting in queues to cast their votes, as reported by an eyewitness.

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Voting is scheduled to continue until 6 pm in all polling stations, except those in Naxalite-affected areas of Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori districts, where it will conclude at 3 pm, as per the official.

The state has a total of 64,626 polling stations, including 64,523 main booths and 103 associate (sahayak) stations, where the number of electors exceeds 1,500, according to the official.

A total of 5,60,58,521 voters, comprising 2,87,82,261 males, 2,71,99,586 females, and 1,292 third-gender persons, are eligible to exercise their franchise, including service and overseas electors, the official stated.

In the electoral fray, there are 2,533 candidates from political parties and independents, with 2,280 males, 252 females, and one third-gender person, all vying for a seat in the state assembly.