Live Updates
Two Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Sukma. Two rifles also recovered.
Voting has ended, turnout is 70% till now in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Elections. Figures will be updated later: Umesh Sinha, Election Commission
56.58 per cent voter turnout recorded till 4.30 pm in 18 constituencies in the first phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh. The highest voter turnout has been recorded in Khujji at 65.5 per cent. Maoist-infested areas of Bastar and Dantewada saw 58 per cent and 49 per cent polling respectively. In the 2013 elections, Bastar saw only 40 per cent voter participation. Kondagaon, Keshkal, Kanker, Khairagarh and Dongargarh saw 61.47, 63.51, 62, 60.5, 64 per cent voter turnout.
47.18 per cent voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. In the 2013 elections, the first phase saw a 67 per cent voter turnout.
Rajnandgaon sees highest voter turnout in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections till 11 am with 39 per cent in Mohala-Manpur constituency and 31 per cent in Dongargaon constituency.
Polling in 18 assembly constituencies in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh elections began on a slow note on Monday with about 14 per cent of the electorate casting their votes in the first few hours.
10.7% voter turnout recorded till 10 am in the first phase of polling.
Another IED was detected near a polling booth in Konta’s Banda in Sukma.
The polling was delayed in 53 polling stations out of the total of 4336 due to technical reasons. However, now all polling stations are reporting smooth voting with long queues outside, the Election Commission has said.
8:35 AM: Voting was stopped at the Pink polling booth in Kamla College in Rajnandgaon’s Sangwari due to a technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine.
A total of 190 candidates are in the fray, with 30 candidates – highest in a constituency – to lock horns in Rajnandgaon. On the other hand, the least number of candidates in a constituency are in Bastar and Kondagaon where five candidates each would battle it out.
7:30 AM: Ahead of polls, yet another Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasted by Maoists near Tumakpal camp in Katekalyan block today. No personnel was injured in the IED blast triggered by Maoists in Dantewada region.
Marking the beginning of the last round of crucial Assembly Elections before the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, 18 constituencies in the Maoists-affected areas of Chhattisgarh went to polls in the first phase on Monday, November 12.
Amid tight security, voting for 10 of the 18 seats began at 7 AM and will end at 3 PM. Polling in the remaining eight seats will continue till 5 PM.
The 10 seats where early voting started are Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon. Over 31 lakh voters, including over 15 lakh males and in excess of 16 lakh females, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 4,336 polling booths.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, led by CM Raman Singh, is seeking victory for the fourth time after remaining in power for three consecutive terms. On the other hand, the Congress is hoping to snatch power in the state from the saffron party with the help of huge anti-incumbency in the state. Meanwhile, former chief minister Ajith Jogi’s Janata Congress Chhattisgarh party is also hoping to claim victory, in alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.
