The first phase of elections on Chhattisgarh will kickstart on April 10 as the state will witness Naxal-infested Bastar constituency go to polls, where a total of eight candidates are in the fray including two women. Voting is expected to begin at 7 am.
The Bastar seat has 1,797 polling booths, mostly in areas where Maoists hold sway. Nearly 80 per cent of polling booths ine the area have been categorized as "critical" by the Election Commission. Looking at the sensitivity, steps are being taken to ensure free and fearless polling, claimed Sunil Kujur, Chief Election Officer of the state.
"Adequate number of security personnel have been deployed to reassure people about their safety and it is hoped that the polling percentage would be high, as was during the assembly elections," he said.
The Election Commission has deployed six helicopters for ferrying 153 polling parties to booths located in the interior pockets of Bastar. Also, thousands of paramilitary and state police personnel along with 8,625 polling staff have been deployed in the area. An air ambulance would also remain in service from April 9 to 12 for emergencies.
Sources at the police headquarters in Raipur said security forces have stepped up combing and search operations in areas of Bastar, particularly where Maoists have reportedly planted mines and explosives to scare away voters.
With a total strength of 12.98 lakhs registered, including 6.65 lakhs females, the Bastar constituency is set to witness a multi-cornered contest. Though there are eight candidates in the fray, the fight is expected between the traditional rivals, the BJP and the Congress, and the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The AAP candidate, Soni Sori, a tribal teacher from the sensitive Dantewada area, has made the contest an interesting one. She has been drawing a lot of support, giving sleepless nights to her opponents. The other candidates in fray are Dinesh Kashyap (BJP), Arjun Singh Thakur, Deepak Karma (INC), Manbodh Baghel (BSP), Shankar Ram Thakur (SP), Vimla Sori (CPI) and Devchand Dhruv (CPI (ML)).
While Dinesh has been re-fielded by the BJP, the Congress is hoping to cash on the sympathy in favour of Deepak Karma, whose father, Mahendra Karma, founder of Salva Judum, was slain by Maoist last year.
The state has 11 Lok Sabha seats and will witness polling in three phases. Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund and Kanker would see polling on April 17; Sarguja, Raigarh, Janggir-Chhapa, Korba, Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur would go to the polls on April 24.
Out of 11 MPs the state sends to Lok Sabha, BJP had won 10 seats in 2009 elections and one seat was won by Congress.
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