Madhya Pradesh bypolls: Both Mungaoli and Kolaras constituencies record over 70% turnout

Bypolls to Mungaoli and Kolaras Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh today recorded 77 % and 70 % voter turnout respectively.

An Election Commission official said minor clashes between political workers were reported from some areas.

While Ashoknagar District Collector K V S Choudary said 77.05 % polling was recorded in Mungaoli, Shivpuri Collector Tarun Rathi told PTI that the turn-out in Kolaras was 70.4 %.

Outcome of the two by-elections would be watched keenly as a possible pointer to people's mood ahead of the Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled state, due later this year.

The Congress has fielded Mahendra Singh Yadav from Kolaras and Brijendra Singh Yadav from Mungaoli, while the BJP has fielded Baisahab Yadav from Mungaoli and Devendra Jain from Kolaras.

Overall, 13 candidates are in the fray in Mungaoli and 22 in Kolaras. Counting of votes would take place on February 28.

The bypolls were necessitated due to the death of Congress's Mungaoli MLA Mahendra Singh Kalukheda and its Kolaras MLA Ram Singh Yadav.

Both seats are in the Guna Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The outcome of the February 24 bypolls for the two seats, currently represented by the Congress, will be perceived as a pointer to the public mood ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections slated later this year.

While state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Yashodhara Raje is seeking votes in Kolaras constituency by invoking the legacy of her mother late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, a formidable BJP doyen, Jyotiraditya is referring to his late father Madhavrao Scindia's contribution in the development of the area.

Kolaras and Mungaoli assembly segments are parts of Jyotiraditya's Guna Lok Sabha constituency.

Sanjay Sharma, a social worker based in Shivpuri-Gwalior who had witnessed elections in the area for the last four decades, said, "Normally, Scindia family members never campaign against each other and avoid face-to-face contest despite being in different parties".

However, a perception is growing that Yashodhara Raje and Jyotiraditya are campaigning against each other, in a departure from convention.

"This was the tradition we have seen from the days of Rajmata Scindia. If Madhavrao contested from Gwalior, then his mother used to fight elections from Guna. They never contested against each other and also avoided campaigning against any member of the family despite having different political parties affiliations," Sharma said.

However, this time it appears and even people feel that they are campaigning against each other in the name of their respective parties, he said.

According to Sharma, Jyotiraditya is reminding people of their old association with his father, while Yashodhara Raje is highlighting her mother's deep connect with the common man and her contribution in his welfare.