Chhattisgarh Assembly election: Naxal-hit Bastar among 20 constituencies to vote today amid high security
Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023: Thorough security arrangements have been made ahead of the Assembly election in the Bastar division, with the deployment of central paramilitary forces and special forces. Bastar is among the 20 constituencies polling today in the Chhattisgarh Assembly election
Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023: Bastar, which is among the 20 Assembly constituencies, that will be voting today in the Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023. Ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023, polling teams reached all the polling stations within the Bastar district on Monday. Security has been tightened in all 20 Assembly constituencies of Chhattisgarh.
The 20 seats that will be contested on November 7 are Pandariya, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta.
The fight is mainly between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Chhattisgarh Assembly election.
In the first phase of voting, 20 constituencies, including 12 from the Bastar division, are participating. These 20 constituencies are spread across seven districts in the Naxal-affected Bastar division and four additional districts, which include Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham, and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai.
Among these twelve seats, polling will occur from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Konta.
However, voters in the remaining three seats – Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakot, will be voting between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., PTI reported.
In preparation for the assembly elections in the Bastar division, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said on Sunday that a thorough security arrangement has been put in place.
“Central paramilitary forces and special forces like District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Bastar Fighters (all units of the state police) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action - an elite unit of CRPF) have been deployed for security of polling station and roads,” an official statement said.
Special forces from neighbouring states such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha will be responsible for securing the interstate border areas. In consideration of the sensitivity of Naxal-affected interior regions, over 600 polling stations will be enveloped by a three-tiered security perimeter.
Chhattisgarh is gearing up for its elections, featuring a significant 64,523 polling stations. The Election Commission reported a total of 5,61,36,229 eligible voters, which includes 2,63,829 first-time voters aged 18-19.
A key player from the BJP in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly polls is Bhawna Bohra, who will be contesting from the Pandariya seat against Congress' Neelu Chandravanshi.
Congress leader Mohammad Akbar is also one of the key players, as he is the only Muslim candidate in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections. He will be contesting from the Kawardha assembly constituency, where he contested for the first time in 2018 and emerged victorious against the BJP's Ashok Sahu, despite the seat having a significant population of Sahus.
Savitri Manoj Mandavi is a prominent leader representing the Congress in the Bhanupratappur constituency, where she is contesting against the BJP's Gautam Uike. Notably, Savitri Manoj Mandavi is the widow of the late Congress MLA Manoj Mandavi, who secured victory in this seat during the 2018 elections.
The BJP aims to unseat the current Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, as part of their strategy to secure victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Security
For over 156 polling stations located in remote interior areas, polling personnel and EVMs are being transported to their designated locations via helicopters. As a security precaution, a total of 149 polling stations within Bijapur, Narayanpur, Antagarh, Dantewada, and Konta assembly constituencies have been relocated to the nearest police stations and security camps.
“The outlawed CPI (Maoist) has resorted to violent activities in its bid to disrupt the electoral process as they are frustrated to see the development and changing face of the Bastar region. It is the old style of Maoist organisation, which is proof of their anti-democratic face”, said the statement.
Naxal insurgents have issued a call for voters to boycott the elections in the Bastar region where they killed a BJP leader in a village within the Narayanpur district while he was engaged in campaign activities for the party.
Recalling an incident from October 2018, a Naxal attack resulted in the deaths of three policemen and a Doordarshan cameraman in the lead-up to the assembly polls in Dantewada district.
In this initial phase, an estimated 40,78,681 voters, comprising 19,93,937 males, 20,84,675 females, and 69 individuals belonging to the third gender, will determine the political destiny of 223 candidates, including 25 women.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Business NewsElectionsAssembly ElectionsChhattisgarh Assembly election: Naxal-hit Bastar among 20 constituencies to vote today amid high security
First Published:7 Nov 2023, 06:41 AM IST
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