Chhattisgarh polls: massive deployment of security personnel as first phase begins

Chhattisgarh is embarking on the first phase of its Assembly polls, with voting taking place on Tuesday.

In this phase, 20 seats, including several in the Naxal-affected Bastar region, will be contested.

The polling will be held between 7 am and 3 pm in ten seats, while the remaining ten will have voting from 8 am to 5 pm.

The fate of 223 candidates, including 25 women, will be decided by an estimated 40,78,681 voters in the first phase. Among the voters, 19,93,937 are male, 20,84,675 female, and 69 belong to the third-gender category. A total of 5,304 polling booths have been set up for this phase.

For security purposes, a massive deployment of 60,000 personnel, including 40,000 from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), has been arranged for the 12 constituencies in the Naxal-hit Bastar division.

The Congress and BJP have fielded prominent candidates for these elections. The ruling Congress party has leaders like Deepak Baij, Kawasi Lakhma, Mohan Markam, and Mohammad Akbar contesting in the first phase. For the BJP, former Chief Minister Raman Singh is a prominent candidate, along with Lata Usendi, Vikram Usendi, Kedar Kashyap, and Mahesh Gagda.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had secured 17 of the 20 seats in this phase, the BJP had won two, and the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh one.

The first phase of campaigning included the Prime Minister criticizing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over the alleged Mahadev betting app scam, while other BJP leaders focused on religious conversion, law and order, and corruption. The Congress, on the other hand, centered its campaign on the Baghel government's welfare schemes and promises to waive farm loans.

The Congress currently holds 71 seats in the 90-member Assembly, having achieved a significant victory over the BJP, which had governed the state since 2003, in the 2018 polls.