Polling for all 18 seats in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018 has ended. The voting began at 7 am in 10 out of the 18 Assembly constituencies on Monday.
Voting in the 10 constituencies ended at 3 pm, and in remaining eight constituencies at 5 pm.
The 10 seats where early voting is being held are Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon.
Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon and Khujji constituencies in Rajnandgaon district and Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot in Bastar district will see polling from 8 am.
Here are the live updates:
# "Total turnout is 70% till now in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Elections 2018. Figures will be updated later," says Umesh Sinha, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner.
# Polling for all 18 seats over.
# A total of 56.58% voter turnout recorded till 4.30 pm in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018 including 61.47% in Kondagaon; 63.51% in Keshkal; 62% in Kanker; 58% in Bastar; 49% in Dantewada; 60.5% in Khairagarh; 64% in Dongargarh; 65.5% in Khujji.
# Three personnel of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) are injured and around five Naxals are dead in the encounter that broke out between security forces & Naxals in Bijapur's Pamed area today. All the CoBRA personnel are out danger.
#UPDATE: Three more personnel of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) are injured and around five Naxals are dead in the encounter that broke out between security forces & Naxals in Bijapur's Pamed area today. All the CoBRA personnel are out danger. #Chhattisgarh https://t.co/TkhHF0pjpG
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
# Security forces defuse IED on the road leading to Dwarapara polling booth, under PS Bairamgarh in Bijapur: ANI
# 47.18 per cent voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections2018.
# People in Dantewada's Madenda village cast their votes even after threat from the Naxals to cut their fingers if the ink mark is seen on their fingers. Local says, "there are 263 registered voters in the village and many are voting even after the threat."
#Chhattisgarh: People in Dantewada's Madenda village cast their votes even after threat from the Naxals to cut their fingers if the ink mark is seen on their fingers. Local says, "there are 263 registered voters in the village and many are voting even after the threat." pic.twitter.com/WPDYX9OiEs
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
# 25.15% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.
# Certain sources are spreading rumours that EVMs are malfunctioning repeatedly. This is to clarify that above info is false. Voting is going on smoothly. If at all, any glitches are noticed, issue is sorted out as quickly as possible: Election Commission.
# Three IEDs have been detected near a polling booth in Konta's Banda and CRPF Bomb disposal squad is in the process of defusing. Polling is underway at a makeshift booth under a tree.
# 10.7% voter turnout recorded till 10 am in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.
# 53 polling stations out of the total of 4336 reported delayed start of polling due to technical reasons, however, 100% polling stations have reported smooth polling with long queues outside: Election Commission
#
#ChhattisgarhElections2018: A visually impaired person casts his vote at a polling station in Dantewada's Geedam pic.twitter.com/1ZtBqolhiM
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
# Voting has resumed at the Pink polling booth in Kamla College, in Rajnandgaon's Sangwari.
# Voting has stopped due to technical problem in the EVM at the Pink polling booth in Kamla College, in Rajnandgaon's Sangwari
#ChhattisgarhElections2018: Voting has stopped due to technical problem in the EVM at the Pink polling booth in Kamla College, in Rajnandgaon's Sangwari pic.twitter.com/cgrjUCQcga
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
# A 100-year-old woman reaches a polling station in Dornapal in Sukma to cast her vote
Sukma: A 100-year-old woman reaches a polling station in Dornapal to cast her vote in the first phase of #ChhattisgarhAssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/A8W8zxpcxf
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
According to news agency ANI, Maoists carried out an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast near Tumakpal camp in Dantewada's Katekalyan block soon after the voting began.
#Chhattisgarh: Voting begins for 10 out of 18 seats in the first phase of #ChhattisgarhAssemblyElection2018 pic.twitter.com/n3mXyn4Nhd
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
Most of the 18 constituencies, where voting is being held, are Maoist-hit and more than 29 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise. Over 1 lakh security personnel have been deployed for smooth conduct of the first phase of elections.
"Around one lakh security personnel, including central paramilitary force, have been deployed to ensure peaceful polling in the first phase," Chhattisgarh's Special Director General (anti-Naxal operations) D M Awasthi told news agency PTI.
A total of 650 companies (roughly around 65,000 security personnel), including of paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and other state forces, have been deputed in the region. These units are apart from existing paramilitary personnel and 200 companies of state forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.
In one of the interesting battles, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will take on incumbent Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon.
Naxal outfits have given calls for a boycott of the elections and have also carried out three major attacks in the last fortnight which have claimed the lives of 13 people, including eight security personnel.
In the last 10 days, over 300 IEDs were recovered from Bastar region and Rajnandgaon district by security forces.
