Voting takes place today in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, two of the three heartland states generating news ahead of the general election of next year. Madhya Pradesh only holds one round of voting. The first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh took place on November 7 and the second phase is taking place today.

In Madhya Pradesh, the voting percentage at nine in the morning was 10.4%. In Chhattisgarh, the percentage was 5.4%. In MP, 75.5 percent of voters cast ballots in the 2018 election. In the latter case, it was 76.7%.

After two groups threw stones at one another, there were reports of violence from the Dimani constituency in Madhya Pradesh. Images circulated on the internet featured armed police officers and security guards stationed in the village of Mirghan. Reporters were informed by DSP Vijay Singh Bhadoriya that the situation was now calm. A shootout was reported by a few villagers, but this has not been confirmed.”

The electronic voting machine (EVM) at the polling place where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was scheduled to cast his ballot malfunctioned in the state’s Budhni district. A queue of voters waiting to exercise their right to vote formed outside as the voting was stopped. Since then, the EVM has been fixed. Additionally, Mr. Chouhan is running from Budhni.

In this election cycle, the Congress has the greatest hope from a single state—Chhattisgarh. The state BJP claims that it now has enormous support in addition to being in a state of disarray. Of the 90 seats in the state, though the Congress hopes to win 75.

However, considering the turn in the election’s history, Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 seats, is drawing more attention than the other state. The BJP regained power in 2020 when the Kamal Nath-led Congress government fell apart due to the walkover of Jyotiraditya Scindia and his 22 supporters. The Congress asserts that anti-incumbency sentiment has reached unprecedented levels since the BJP’s comeback to power. These days, every party wants to show that they were the people’s choice.

One of the most well-liked chief ministers in the state has been Mr. Chouhan, also known as “mama” or maternal uncle. However, the BJP ran its campaign under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s banner and did not present him as the party’s nominee for chief minister this time.

In addition, the party fielded an unprecedented seven Members of Parliament, comprising union ministers Faggan Singh Kulaste, Pralhad Patel, and Narendra Singh Tomar. Even though Scindia is not running for office, the performance of his supporters could influence the old guard’s power dynamics within the party. Many believe this indicates the BJP is prepared for a fresh face at the top position. Others assert that it will struggle to unseat Mr. Chouhan, who is a well-liked OBC leader and one of the tallest in the state.