Lok Sabha elections: Young voters to play pivotal role in 17 Madhya Pradesh seats

1.53 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh are young voters

Over 27 percent of the total voters in Madhya Pradesh are those aged between 18 and 29 years. These 1.53 crore young voters are likely to decide the fate of candidates in Lok Sabha elections. The state is scheduled to vote in four phases - April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13.

Of these 1.53 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh, 16.89 lakh are those who are aged between 18 and 19 years. This category of voters, considered first-time voters, alone constitute 3 percent of the electorate in 17 out of the total 29 constituencies.

Khargone constituency in MP is crucial when the young electorate come into the picture. It not only has the highest percentage of voters (30.45 percent) aged below 30 years, but also has the highest number of first-time voters at 3.7 percent.

In the young voters category, Ratlam is close second where 30.31 percent of the electorate is aged below 30 years. Both Khargone and Ratlam are constituencies reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Another constituency which holds the key in this category is Guna which has 29.76 percent of voters aged below 30 years. In the first-time voters category as well, Guna ranks third with 3.5 percent of voters.

Vidisha constituency, from where BJP has fielded former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has 3.6 percent of it voters in the age group 18-19 years.