RAIPUR: The conflict-ridden Bastar zone in south Chhattisgarh created a record turnout of voters at 78 per cent giving every reason to cheer for the Election Commission (EC) that issued a statement ‘Ballot wins over Bullet’ after the first phase of peaceful polling was accomplished.
Elections to the 20 Assembly constituencies of Chhattisgarh, including 12 seats of Bastar, witnessed moderate to heavy polling with a provisional figure of 71 per cent, declared on Tuesday.
The office of the Chhattisgarh chief electoral officer later statistically calibrated and compiled the polling percentage from all polling stations following the return of the polling parties. The final voter turnout stood at 78 per cent eclipsing the previous best of 76.28 per cent, much to the delight of the EC.
Amid the poll boycott call given by the Maoists, there were eight encounters with the forces but no casualties were reported but five personnel had sustained injuries.
The Bastar region has seven Maoist-affected districts with predominantly tribal populations and is considered to be politically significant owing to the prevailing belief that the region also holds the key to power.
The Bastar division as well as regions of Kawardha and Rajnandgaon adjoining Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli has been a challenge for the EC due to the threat of the left-wing extremists.
During his last visit to review the poll preparedness in Chhattisgarh on August 28, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told this newspaper that with new base camps in operation and an improved security environment, the voting percentage across the Bastar zone will be better this time.
Since November 2019, as many as 63 new security camps, covering various critical axes, have been set up to primarily pull the plug on the security and administrative vacuum in areas seen as Maoist strongholds.
The security forces were deployed in adequate strength during the polls. Besides, the EC created 126 new polling stations in Bastar, for the first time, to ensure free, participative, and peaceful polls. The move helped remove hardships faced by voters who had to endure long treks to reach the polling booths covering dense forests, hills, and rivers and braving the threats of the Maoists, in order to cast their votes.
Some district collectors had even come out with novel measures in areas where the turnout was very poor in the past. For instance, the Sukma collector Haris S got printed invitation letters, each carrying a small pouch with turmeric and rice symbolising a happy occasion to create awareness and motivate the voters to exercise their right to franchise.