RAIPUR: Maoist-affected Chhattisgarh has to its credit a unique accomplishment of being a re-poll free state and emerged as a model in the country.
The achievement speaks highly of the state chief electoral office, which managed the previous polls held for the state Assembly (November 2018) followed by the Lok Sabha (2019) and the recently Assembly by-polls. Chhattisgarh has become the only state where not a single situation arose or any complaint lodged to have necessitated a re-poll.
Incidentally, the Chhattisgarh state earlier this year bagged key ‘National Award’ by the President of India for the best election-related works and achievement in ‘State Category’.
“Chhattisgarh is the lone state in the nation to have achieved this performance. Since 2018 Assembly to 2019 Lok Sabha elections till the subsequent two by-polls held recently at Dantewada and Chitrakot, there was no re-polling ordered. The polling was held peacefully with high turn-out recorded at various places across the state”, a senior officer in the state chief electoral office told this newspaper.
The officials informed that Chhattisgarh despite having faced poll boycott call by the outlawed CIP (Maoist) has become the only state where was no complaint was received on electoral rolls, no looting of electronic voting machine (EVM), the least number of EVMs were replaced depending upon the pressing requirement.
According to the CEO office, there was not a single Naxal-related incident during the polls. “And despite the region having the presence of Maoists, there was high voter-turnout reported. Never any situation arose to replace the returning officer or assistant returning officer. They were well trained as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India,” the officer added.
Owing to intensive voter awareness programme and other initiatives taken by the office of the CEO during all the previous elections held in the past one year, many electorates turned-up to exercise their franchise from the seven edgy-districts of the conflict zone of Bastar. Several polling booths even recorded 100 per cent voting during the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, the CEO office revealed.