42.25 pc voter turnout till 2 pm in 8 Lok Sabha seats in MP

An average of 42.25 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 2 pm in eight Lok Sabha seats of Madhya Pradesh, an official said.

Voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state was underway since 7 am and long queues were seen at several booths.

"During mock poll conducted before the actual voting began, 30 to 40 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were changed because of some technical problems," state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao said.

The voting figures till 2 pm were: Morena 38.43 per cent, Bhind 35.38 per cent, Gwalior 38.70 per cent, Guna 49.03 per cent, Sagar 45.27 per cent, Vidisha 46.93 per cent, Bhopal 40.69 per cent and Rajgarh 45.30 per cent, he added.

In Bhopal, Congress veteran Digvijay Singh is locked in a battle with BJP candidate and 2008 Malegaon blast accused Pragya Thakur.

Singh is a registered voter of his hometown Raghogarh in Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat.

Thakur exercised her franchise in the morning at a polling booth in Rivera ...