 "149 polling stations in Bastar shifted to nearest police stations, camps")
Ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, 149 polling stations in the Bijapur, Narayanpur, Antagarh, Dantewada, and Konta constituencies have been relocated to the closest police stations and camps for security reasons.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, as many as 196 polling stations were shifted, while 330 booths were relocated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the Bastar division.
In over 126 locations, new polling stations have been established. Of these, 40 polling stations, such as Minpa, Galgam, Silger, and Chandameta, were re-established in their original villages after the security situation was normalised.
An official said that five polling stations in each of the seven districts of the division will be under the security protection of women commandos.
BJP leader killed in Narayanpur district
On Saturday, Naxalites killed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in a village in Narayanpur district while he was campaigning for the party. In October 2018, three policemen and a Doordarshan cameraman were killed in a Naxal attack ahead of the Assembly polls in Dantewada district.
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First phase of voting on November 7
Chhattisgarh is set to vote in two phases on November 7 and 17, and the results will be declared on December 3. The first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh will take place on November 7, and the remaining 70 seats in the state will go to the polls on November 17. The Model Code of Conduct has already come into effect in Chhattisgarh.
As many as 12 Assembly seats of the Bastar division are among the 20 constituencies that will see voting in the first phase. Of the 12 seats, voting will be held from 7 am to 3 pm on Tuesday in Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Konta seats, while on the remaining three seats — Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakot — voters can cast their ballot between 8 am and 5 pm.
As many as 5,304 polling booths have been set up for the first phase of polling, covering 20 Assembly seats. In the first phase, which has 223 candidates, including 25 women, an estimated 4,078,681 voters will cast their ballot, including 1,993,937 males, 2,084,675 females, and 69 third-gender persons.