Amid Maoist Threats, Around 70% Voter Turnout In Chhattisgarh

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.

Voting in nine seats of Bastar division and one seat in Rajnandgaon district began at 7 am while in the other eight seats, it started at 8 am

Over 1.25 lakh police and paramilitary personnel, were deployed in 18 constituencies falling under the Maoist-hit areas of Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon districts
Thirty-one EVMs and 61 VVPAT machines were replaced due to technical snags, a poll official said
An improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated early morning in Dantewada district by Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the polls, the police said

Vishwas, a 100-year-old woman, whose name means 'trust', reached a polling station at Dornapal, supporting herself with a stick and was also helped by her son