Chhattisgarh Elections 2023: 71% voter turnout recorded in first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly polls amid Naxal violence.

In Chhattisgarh, voting is being held in 20 seats in the first phase of elections today. A total of 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray in the first phase.

In Chhattisgarh, voting is underway for the first phase of assembly elections in 20 constituencies. Polling is going on peacefully in most places, but three Naxal incidents have been reported in Bastar division since morning. A CRPF commando on election duty was injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Sukma district today. After this, there are reports of encounters between Naxalites and security forces in Sukma and Kanker. According to information given by Chhattisgarh Police, during the first phase of voting, there has been an encounter between Naxals and bsf, DRG team in Bande police station area of Kanker district. AK-47 rifles were recovered from the spot. A search operation is underway in the area. Some Naxals are likely to be injured or killed.

According to the information, out of the 20 seats going to polls in Chhattisgarh today, 12 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and one for Scheduled Castes. The highest number of candidates are in Rajnandgaon (29) and the lowest in seven each in Chitrakot and Dantewada seats. A total of 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray for the first phase of elections, for which a total of 40,78,681 voters will exercise their franchise. As many as 5,304 polling booths have been set up and 25,249 polling personnel have been deployed for the first phase of Chhattisgarh polls. Out of these 20 assembly seats in the first phase, there are 16 assembly seats where women are in a decisive role. The number of women voters in these seats is more than that of men. There are 19,93,937 male voters, 20,84,675 female voters and 69 third gender voters in all these 20 seats. Tight security arrangements have been made for the polling. Talking about preparations for the Chhattisgarh polls, police said around 60,000 security personnel have been deployed for smooth conduct of polling in Bastar division comprising 12 assembly constituencies.