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Business News/ Elections 2019 / Lok Sabha Elections 2019/  2 days after naxal attack, bastar records 56% polling
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2 days after naxal attack, bastar records 56% polling

The district had recorded 59% turnout in 2014 Lok Sabha elections; both Congress, BJP claim they will win seat
  • Villagers have often been held at gunpoint by Naxalites and forced to follow their orders
  • People came out in large number to cast their votes in Dantewada, Sukma, Narayanpur and Bijapur, on Thursday.Premium
    People came out in large number to cast their votes in Dantewada, Sukma, Narayanpur and Bijapur, on Thursday.

    RAIPUR : People of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district defied security threats and calls for a boycott of the Lok Sabha elections by the Naxalites to record a 56% voter turnout in the first phase of the polls on Thursday, according to the state’s chief electoral officer.

    The elections this year in Bastar, the centre of Naxalite activity in the state, were held just two days after the an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Dantewada, Bhima Mandavi. Shyamgiri, where Mandavi and four security force personnel were killed, recorded a voter turnout of 70%.

    The elections in tribal-dominated Bastar, which had recorded a 59% voter turnout during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, assume added significance with Naxalites having stepped up attacks to ensure that there is no development permeates in the Dandakaranya forest region, which spans close to 5,000 square miles of uncharted land.

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    Naxals have increasingly demanded that people boycott all elections and have distributed pamphlets and other literature criticising the government and also used threats to prevent people from exercising their franchise. At the epicentre of this tussle between the Centre, state and the Naxalites are the people of the Lok Sabha constituency of Bastar.

    Villagers have often been held at gunpoint by Naxalites and forced to follow their orders. However, over the years, people have been steadily defying boycott calls, with the region recording a turnout of 67% in the recently concluded assembly elections.

    On Thursday people care out in their hundreds to cast their ballot in Dantewada, Sukma, Narayanpur and Bijapur. However, the villagers now fear that they may face a backlash from the Naxals.

    “We got reports that villagers were using blades and sharp sticks to wipe off the ink because they fear they will be tortured by the Naxals later in the day for not heeding the call to boycott the polls. Troops are keeping a strict vigil in these areas and the electorate will be safe," said a senior state government official seeking anonymity.

    The Bastar seat, which is reserved for scheduled tribe (ST) candidates, has Baiduram Kashyap of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) facing Congress candidate Deepak Baij.

    The BJP, which faced a drubbing in the Assembly elections in the state held in November last year, took no chance and dropped all its sitting members of Parliament (MPs) from the 11 seats in the state.

    “We are confident that Bastar will go to the BJP. In the last two months, people have seen how the new government has dealt with Naxalite violence, given that it has increased massively. Besides, Tuesday’s incident in which Bheema Mandavi was killed has also turned the tide in our favour," said Sushant Shukla, BJP leader in Chhattisgarh.

    The Congress, however, is upbeat about its chances. The BJP had won 10 out of 11 parliamentary constituencies in 2014. However, not only is the Congress confident of winning Bastar, it is also optimistic about winning all the other 10 seats across the state.

    “The BJP knows it does not stand a chance, which is why it did not even field its sitting MPs from Chhattisgarh. We are confident that we will win all 11 constituencies because the people have seen what 15 years of BJP rule has done. In the first 100 days the Congress state government has fulfilled 18 out of 36 promises. So the people know what we are worth," Shailesh Trivedi, senior Congress leader from Chhattisgarh said.

    About 80,000 state police and central paramilitary personnel have been deployed across Bastar, while election officials have been moved around in helicopters, said a senior police officials on condition of anonymity.

    Naxalites on Thursday triggered an IED blast, the third in the last three days, in Bastar’s Narayanpur district, in an attempt to disrupt the electoral process. There were no casualties.

    A total of total 13.72 lakh voters cast their ballot in Bastar in the first phase.

    Election officers and polling parties were shifted to polling booths across Bastar, in phases of T minus one (one day before polls), T minus two (two days before polls) and T minus three (three days before polls). Polling booths had also been set up near main roads or arterial points to minimize the chances of an ambush by Naxalites, about five kilometres away from villages.

    Additionally, according to the Election Commission’s data, while 2019 had a total 1,879 polling booths, the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw a total 1,765 polling booths across Bastar. At the same time, while 13.72 lakh voters in Bastar cast their ballot this year, 2014 saw 11.93 lakh voters coming out to vote.

    Persons familiar with the development stated that even though voter turnout was less than 2014, the number of enlisted voters was higher with election officials circumventing Naxal threats and reaching out to the villagers in Bastar.

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    Published: 12 Apr 2019, 01:23 AM IST
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