First phase Chhattisgarh polls record 70% turnout

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Raipur: Over 70 per cent polling was recorded in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections on Monday. The voting figures are likely to further go up.

“Polling was peaceful. In comparison to earlier elections, this elections have been singular achievement of the people working in fields. Attempts were made to create fear among people but enthusiasm in voters was appreciable,” said OP Rawat, Chief Election Commissioner.

"Over 70 per cent voters cast their vote... The final figure may touch the last election`s figure of 75 per cent as data is still being obtained," said Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha while briefing the media.

One percent of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and 1.9 percent voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) were changed, informed Sudeep Jain, Election Commission. 

Eighteen constituencies went to polls on Monday – Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot.

Two Naxals were gunned down Monday evening in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The militants have carried out multiple attacks in the last few weeks, killing several people including a BSF officer and a journalist. 

The constituencies which went to the polls on Monday were Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot.

The BJP had lost 12 of these 18 seats in 2013. 

The prominent faces in the first phase include Chief Minister Raman Singh, pitted against Congress` Karuna Shukla in his home turf Rajnandgaon. 

Shukla, a niece of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee switched to Congress from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014. 

Polling in 10 constituencies -- Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon -- started at 7 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. 

Voting at Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot started an hour later and ended at 5 p.m.

Amid the polling, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kickstarted the campaign for the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh by addressing an election rally in Bilaspur. 

The second and final phase of polling in Chhattisgarh will be held on November 20. The vote count will take place on December 11.