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Journalism of Courage
Voter turnout in the Chhattisgarh Assembly election’s first phase is up by 1.53 percentage points to 78% compared to the 2018 polls, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday.
Of the 20 seats that went to polls on Tuesday in the first phase, turnout increased in 11 and fell in nine seats compared to the 2018 polls.
Terming the increase in the voter turnout as a “victory of ballot over bullet,” the EC said barring two seats of Kondagaon and Bijapur, the voter turnout in each of the remaining 10 seats in Naxal-affected Bastar region increased this time.
Incidentally, out of the nine seats where voter turnout decreased, seven are in the Durg division. Despite the Naxal violence, including the killing of a BJP leader days before the election in Narayanpur, and the killing of a Border Security Force jawan in an IED blast a day before voting in Kanker, the Bastar region saw a better voter turnout.
On the day of voting though, 10 violent incidents involving Naxals were reported, including six firing incidents.
Former state election commissioner Sushil Trivedi said, “The Naxal violence had a small influence on the voting. A major factor for the increase in the voting percentage are multiple public speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah as well as Congress leaders. Another important factor… is the 126 new polling booths in interior areas of Bastar.”
As per provisional EC figures, the 126 new booths added 68,441 votes. A polling booth in Kallepal, Chitrakot, which was shifted in the 2018 polls over Naxal influence, voter turnout rose to 65.3% this time from 3.68%.
Similarly, new polling booths in Keshkal’s Kuea and Bhandarapal, both of which were shifted in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and saw a 0% turnout, saw 72.41% and 83.68% voter turnout, respectively, this time.
Even in one of the most Naxal-affected seats of Konta, the new polling booths in Mankapal and Karigundam saw turnout rise from 7.61% to 70.02% and 1.98% to 68.22%, respectively.
All security personnel who travelled by road after escorting polling parties by helicopters have returned safely, said Sundarraj P, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range. On polling day, one COBRA official in Sukma had suffered serious injuries on his leg in an IED blast and four COBRA jawans suffered minor injuries in an encounter in Sukma.
