Voters in 126 villages in Bastar cast votes in newly set polling booths

New Delhi: Voting took place on Tuesday in 126 villages located in Chhattisgarh's Naxalite-affected Bastar division at polling places that had been established there for the first time since Independence, according to the Election Commission. A poll official cited the 126 new polling places in areas affected by left-wing extremism as a "triumph of the ballot over bullet" and mentioned Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar's recent comments that everyone from every region will be ensured to participate in the democratic process and sufficient security forces will be deployed to ensure the security during the elections.

Amid an encounter with Naxalites in the Chintagufa police station area of Sukma district in which four security personnel were injured, the poll panel described the first phase of assembly polls in the state as "free, fair and largely peaceful".

According to the EC, the new polling stations removed the hardships faced by voters in these villages as they no longer had to endure long treks through dense forests, hills, and rivers and brave the threats posed by LWE to exercise their franchise.

The new polling stations were consistent with EC's norms which aim to ensure that no voter has to move beyond a radius of 2 km to vote.

Of these 126 booths, 15 were located in Kanker, 12 in Antagarh, 20 in Konta, 14 in Chitrakot, five in Bhanupratapur, four in Jagdalpur, one in Bastar, 13 in Kondagaon, 19 in Keshkal, nine in Narayanpur, eight in Dantewada and six in Bijapur assembly constituencies.

Polling station number 97 in village Matavand, Narayanpur has 459 voters.

In the state's Kanker, a "Rainbow Model Polling Station" was set up in the Pakhanjur area which is inhabited by the highest number of voters in the third gender category, the EC said.

The polling station had security personnel also belonging to the third gender, instilling confidence and eliminating stigma regarding third-gender voters, it said.

With PTI inputs