Total 70 per cent voter turnout recorded in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections on Monday.
RAIPUR: Five Naxals were killed and five jawans sustained injuries in a gun battle that took place in Bijapur at around 12.30pm.
An improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in Dantewada district by Naxals during the wee hours of the day and another explosive was recovered in the Sukma district.
The CRPF personnel were attacked around 12.20 p.m. when they were on an “area domination” operation in a dense forest near Majiguda village.
In Bijapur, security forces have defused an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a road leading to a polling booth.Around one lakh security personnel, including central paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure peaceful elections across the eight districts, which are prone to Naxal attacks.
Security has been beefed up for the first phase of elections to be held on Monday in Bastar and Rajnandgaon. Nearly 60,000 security personnel has been deployed in the Bastar region.
The 18 Assembly seats where voting is being held today are – Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Jagdalpur, Keshkal and Chitrakoot.
The remaining 72 seats of Chhattisgarh assembly will go to vote on November 20 as part of a multi-phased voting across five states that also include neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
Meanwhile, political parties are making last bid efforts to mobilize voters in their favour and people seem to be anxious and excited to cast their votes.
Intelligence officials and security forces operating in Bastar region have warned of heightened Naxal activity in the Naxal-infested districts specially in Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur and Narainpur in the run-up to the elections.
There have been dozens of naxal attacks during the election period.The Naxals have asked the local tribal to boycott the election through banner and posters.
