Bhopal, Oct 9 (IANS): Polling will be held in Madhya Pradesh in a single phase on November 17 and a total of 5.6 crore voters will exercise their franchise, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Monday.

The process for the election will begin with the issue of notification on October 13. The last date of nomination for the candidate is October 20. Their candidature will be scrutinised on October 21.

A total 5.6 crore electorates will exercise their votes to elect their MLAs in the 230-member Assembly constituencies.

As per the Election Commission, candidates can withdraw their candidature by October 23.

The results of the elections will be announced on December 3 along with four other states -- Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.

Currently, the state is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2018, the Congress won the Madhya Pradesh elections, but lost power to the BJP in March 2020 after the resignations of 22 legislators.

The BJP has since 2003 been in power (barring 18 months between 2018 and 2020) in the state. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government faces anti-incumbency and infighting.

With this, a total 39 days are left for the preparations for the political parties in the state. The ruling BJP has so far announced its 79 candidates and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also announced the names of its 29 candidates. The Congress is yet to release its first list. The sources in the Congress said that the list of the candidates would be announced soon.