Highlights
- Twenty-eight per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise till 11 am during the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls in the 18 constituencies of Naxal-hit Bastar and Rajnandgaon districts. Today's voting kicked off state polls seen as a semi-final before next year's national election and the first major test for BJP's Narendra Modi, who is running for Prime Minister. The rest of the state will vote on November 19.
Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh voted today on the first day of two-phase polling which saw a turnout of 67% despite incidents of violence in which a jawan was killed and a Congress candidate injured. This was the first of state polls seen as a semi-final before next year's national election and the first major test for BJP's Narendra Modi, who is running for Prime Minister. The rest of the state will vote on November 19.
Here are the 10 latest developments:
This afternoon, Maoists attacked a polling booth in Dantewada and opened fire, killing a head constable of the Central Reserve Police Force. Polling staff also ran away.
A staggering one lakh personnel drawn from across the country guarded just 18 of the state's 90 constituencies that voted today. These constituencies are in the Maoist strongholds of Bastar and Rajnandgaon districts.
Three bombs were found, two of them outside a polling station in Dantewada, after polling began this morning. Several bombs were found across the state in the past week, amid Maoist threats to do everything possible to derail the polls. Maoists had put up posters warning voters of repercussions if they defied their boycott call.
Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is fighting for a third straight term, predicted a high turnout, mainly of women voters. "People are happily, willingly coming to vote," he said. He was among the 143 candidates in the fray today. (Chhattisgarh constituencies)
Over a dozen choppers maintained air surveillance and air ambulances were kept on stand-by. Nearly 3,000 cameras monitored polling stations. "We have an unprecedented number of security personnel. We want people to come out and vote fearlessly," said Arun Dev Gautam, Inspector General, Bastar.
Maoists had also opened fire at the Border Security Force or BSF in Kanker in Bastar and three personnel were injured in blasts in Kanker and Rajnandgaon last night.
A Congress candidate from Jagdalpur was also injured last night. Shamu Kashyap, reportedly chosen by Rahul Gandhi, alleges that he was attacked by BJP workers. "BJP workers came in cars and beat me, they said stop neta-giri (politics)," said he said, while recovering in hospital. The BJP, however, alleged that their workers had been beaten. (Assembly elections 2013: Track live updates)
Chief Minister Raman Singh's main rival in Rajnandgaon is Congress's Alka Mudliyar, wife of Uday Mudliyar, who was killed in a Maoist ambush in May, which virtually wiped out the entire Congress leadership in the state.
The wife of Mahendra Karma - the founder of the anti-Naxal force Salwa Judum who was also killed in the attack - is contesting from Dantewada. Many believe the Congress is banking on the sympathy factor after the killing of its leaders.
After Chhattisgarh, voters in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram will also vote for new state assemblies. All results will be declared after counting on December 8.
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