As many as 1.80 lakh security personnel will be deployed to maintain peace and ensure free and fair voting during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled on November 28, a senior official said Monday.
State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V L Kantha Rao said 3,00,782 government employees, including 45,904 women, have been deployed on poll duty at 65,367 booths set up across the state, which has a 230-member Assembly.
Addressing a press conference here at the end of election campaigning in the state, he said 17,000 of these polling booths have been declared sensitive and additional vigil will be maintained on them.
Rao said 1.80 lakh security personnel, including those drawn from central paramilitary forces, would be deployed to conduct a free and fair poll.
He said physically challenged employees would manage 160 booths, while 3,046 polling centres would have all-woman staff.
The CEO said shops and outlets selling and serving liquor have been asked to remain shut till the polling ends.
According to Election Commission (EC) data, a total of 2,907 candidates, including 1,102 Independents, are in the fray for the 230 Assembly seats.
The highest number of candidates 34 are in the Mehgaon constituency in Bhind district, while the lowest 4 is at Gunnor in Panna district.
According to the final electoral roll, the state has 5,04,95,251 voters 2,63,01,300 males, 2,41,30,390 females, 1,389 third gender and 62,172 postal electors.
The BJP is contesting on all the 230 seats, while the Congress has fielded 229 candidates, leaving one seat, Jatara in Tikamgarh district, for its ally Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD).
The BSP has fielded 227 candidates, while the SP is contesting on 51 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party, contesting the Madhya Pradesh elections for the first time, has fielded 208 candidates.
In the last Assembly polls, the BJP had won 165, the Congress 58, the BSP four and the Independents three.
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