Hospital staff carry a BSF soldier into a hospital in Ranchi on Thursday. Early Thursday, the Naxals opened fire on paramilitary soldiers patrolling Latehar, about 80 miles east of Ranchi, killing six troops. (AP)
As voters came out in force on the first day of the General Elections, so did the Naxals to block the polls.
There were a dozen Maoist strikes, which left at least 18 dead -- mostly in landmine blasts.
The worst attacks took place at Latehar in Jharkhand and Dantewada and Rajnand in Chhattisgarh. That's where troops and officials were killed.
But there were attacks in other states as well.
It's the worst ever Naxal attack on any voting day in the sheer spread and the coordination shown by the left rebels.
Yesterday about 100-150 Naxals attacked a BSF camp in Rohtas. On Thursday the BSF went back to conduct elections. But were again attacked by 150 Naxals.
Six BSF jawans were killed in a landmine explosion in Jharkhand.
Five poll officials died in a similar attack in Chattisgarh. The Maoist mined the roads, ambushed security forces snatched voting machines and scared people away.
Through the day, bad news kept flowing into Delhi.
Said BSF Director General M L Kumawat: "We depend on the local police for intelligence. If we had better intelligence on the land mines, perhaps there wouldn't have been these casualties."
The Election Commission is on the defensive for holding voting in all Naxal-dominated areas in one go.