A CRPF commando was injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxalites in Sukma while his unit was undertaking an area domination operation.
November will see Assembly polls in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana. (iStock)
Voting for elections to the 40-member Assembly in Mizoram and the first phase of Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh for 20 out of 90 seats, began at 7 am on Tuesday, 7 November, amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
A thick security blanket of police and paramilitary personnel kept a tight vigil in the Naxalite-hit Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.
Apart from Mizoram and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh will vote on 17 November, Rajasthan on 23 November, and Telangana on 30 November.
Polling will continue till 4 pm in Mizoram for the 40 Assembly seats.
In Chhattisgarh, where 20 of the total 90 Assembly seats are having voting — polling in the 10 constituencies (Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Konta) — is being held from 7 am to 3 pm due to the Naxal threat.
In the remaining ten constituencies — Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Pandariya and Kawardha — people can vote from 8 am to 5 pm.
The remaining 70 seats of Chhattisgarh will see voting on 17 November, in the second and last phase of polling for the 90-member state Assembly.
The counting of votes will take place on 3 December.
Despite the heavy security, a CRPF commando was injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxalites in the Sukma district while his unit was undertaking an area domination operation to ensure security during the polls.
The incident occurred when a joint team of CRPF and Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 206th battalion was out on an area domination operation from Tondamarka camp towards Elmagunda village to ensure security during polls, a senior police official said.
During patrolling, Inspector Shrikant belonging to CoBRA 206th battalion, inadvertently stepped over the IED, planted by Naxalites, leading to the explosion and causing injuries to him, the official said.
The area falls under the Konta Assembly segment, which is among the 20 constituencies where voting is being done.
In the first phase covering 20 of the total 90 assembly seats, 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray and as per electoral rolls, 40,78,681 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP are the main contenders for power in the state.
Women voters outnumber men in seats covered under the first phase of polling. As many as 20,84,675 female voters are on the rolls while the number of male voters is 19,93,937. There are 69 third-gender voters as well.
As many as 5,304 election booths have been set up for the first phase and 25,249 polling personnel have been deployed.
Around 60,000 security personnel, 40,000 of them belonging to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and 20,000 from the state police, have been deployed for the smooth conduct of polls in the Bastar division which has 12 Assembly segments, police said.
Around 1 lakh security personnel have been deployed for the first phase of polls, they said.
Due to security reasons, 149 polling stations in five Assembly constituencies of the Bastar division have been shifted to the nearest police station and security camps, they said.
Naxal activities are being monitored through drones and helicopters, while bomb disposal teams and dog squads will be roped in as and when required, according to the police.
In Mizoram, elaborate security arrangements have been made with 7,200 personnel deployed across the state to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections, the officials said.
The 510-km-long international border with Myanmar and the 318-km boundary with Bangladesh have been sealed ahead of the polling of Assembly constituencies.
In Mizoram, over 8.57 lakh voters, including 4.39 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the electoral fate of 174 candidates.
The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), main opposition Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), and Congress have fielded candidates in all the seats. The BJP is contesting in 23 constituencies, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated candidates in four Assembly segments.
Besides, there are 27 independent candidates.
Technical glitches in EVM were reported from a polling station in Aizawl where Chief Minister Zoramthanga is expected to exercise his franchise, the officials said.
Of the 1,276 polling stations across Mizoram, 149 are remote voting centres, and 30 along the inter-state and international borders have been declared critical and vulnerable.
Of the 20 seats, 12 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and one for the Scheduled Castes. The highest number of contestants is in Rajnandgaon (29) and the lowest — seven each — in Chitrakote and Dantewada seats, polls officials said.
Chhattisgarh Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakote), state ministers Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Mohan Markam (Kondagaon), and Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha), as well as Chhavindra Karma (Dantewada), who is the son of late party leader Mahendra Karma, are among prominent candidates from the ruling party in the first phase.
For the BJP, former chief minister Raman Singh is contesting from Rajnandgaon against the Congress’s Girish Dewangan, chairman of the Chhattisgarh State Mineral Development Corporation.
Other prominent contestants from the saffron party include four former ministers — Lata Usendi (Kondagaon), Vikram Usendi (Antagarh), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur), and Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), as well as former IAS officer Neelkanth Tekam from Keshkal.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s state unit chief, Komal Hupendi, is in the fray from Bhanupratappur, while sitting MLA Anup Nag, after being denied a ticket by the Congress, is fighting as an Independent from Antagarh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, urged voters in Chhattisgarh and Mizoram to exercise their franchise as the two states go to polls to elect members of their respective Assembly.
In his message for voters in Chhattisgarh, Modi urged them to be a part of the democracy’s auspicious festival by casting their votes in the first round of polls. He congratulated the first-time voters.
He also appealed to people in Mizoram to come out and vote in record numbers.
“I call upon the people of Mizoram to vote in record numbers. I particularly urge the young and first-time voters to exercise their franchise and strengthen the festival of democracy.”
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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