Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Gadchiroli is in Maharashtra's Maoist-affected region.
An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was triggered near a polling booth in Maharashtra's Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district on Thursday as voting was underway for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. No one was injured in the incident, reports said.
The IED blast took place around 10:30 am in Waghezari area, around 150 metres from the polling booth where people were standing in queues to cast their votes for the Lok Sabha election, an official told news agency PTI.
On Wednesday, Maoists had set off an IED at Gatta Jambia village in Etapalli tehsil of the district when a polling party was moving towards polling stations under protection of a police party and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
A CRPF trooper was injured in the incident.
The official said Maoists were trying to disrupt the poll process and create panic among villagers, who came out in large numbers to vote on Thursday.
Gadchiroli is among the seven seats where polling is underway during the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Five people including a BJP legislator and four security personnel were killed in a Maoist-triggered IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday.
(With inputs from PTI)