Mizoram, Chhattisgarh Elections: Bastar’s villages get first poll stations, rainbow booths make debut

KOLKATA | Updated: 07 November, 2023 7:35 pm IST
One of the polling stations going to vote for the first time at Bastar's Kalepal (Picture courtesy: ECI)

KOLKATA: As Chhattisgarh reached 70.87 per cent of voter turnout in its first phase, while Mizoram’s assembly elections reached 77.04 per cent, on Tuesday. It was also the first time that 126 villages in Bastar district went for polling since independence. 

“126 new polling stations in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas of Bastar division reflects the triumph of Ballot over the bullet,” stated a press release from the Election Commission of India. 

Earlier, residents of these villages had to commute a lot to other polling stations in particularly more urban areas of Bastar to cast their vote. 

Out of these 126 booths, 15 are located in Kanker AC, 12 in Antagarh, five in Bhanupratapur, 20 in Konta, 14 in Chitrakot, four in Jagdalpur, one in Bastar, 13 in Kondagaon, 19 in Keshkal, nine in Narayanpur, eight in Dantewada and six in Bijapur Assembly Constituency. 

 

Chhattisgarh also bore witness to the deployment of around 60,000 security personnel, which also included 20,000 personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces. 

Moreover, this marked the first time in India’s election history that transgenders could vote comfortably due to the deployment of security personnel belonging to the same community. 

The ECI remained optimistic of the voting percentage in both the states increasing owing to their attempts at inclusivity. “The voting percentage is likely to go upwards. We will know for sure after reports from all polling stations including the interiors and other inaccessible polling stations come in. Voters who reached the polling stations till the end of poll hours are allowed to cast their vote. Final figures will be known by November 8, 2023, after scrutiny of form 17A,” the ECI’s statement read. 

Mizoram has 40 assembly constituencies 20 assembly constituencies went for polling in the first phase of Chattisgarh. During the polling, 8,52,088 voters were registered in Mizoram while 40,78,680 voters had registered in the first phase of the elections in Chhattisgarh. 1,276 polling stations and 5,304 polling stations were set up to facilitate the voting process respectively in Mizoram and Chhattisgarh.

A total of 174 candidates contested elections in Mizoram, while the corresponding figure is 223 for Phase-I elections in Chhattisgarh.  

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