Voting is underway
in the Naxal-affected Karigundam area in Chhattisgarh after 23 years.
Karigundam is part of the Dantewada (ST) constituency.
The polling
process is being held under the security cover by the CRPF 150 Battalion and
District Force.
Meanwhile, as the
elections got underway, the voters were seen standing outside a polling booth
in the Karigundam area to cast their votes for the Chhattisgarh Assembly
elections 2023.
The Dantewada was
won by the BJP’s Bhima Mandavi in 2018 even as the Congress had swept 17 of the
20 seats that are going to the polls in this phase.
Mandavi and four
security personnel were killed days before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when
their convoy was attacked by suspected Naxals in Dantewada district. This time
the BJP is represented by Chaitram Atani, a former member of the now outlawed
Sulwa Judum movement.
The Congress is
represented by Chhavindra Karma the son of late Mahendra Karma, who was a
minister in the Congress Government and a former Sulwa Judum leader. Karma was
killed in the Naxal attack in Darbha Valley, Mahindra Karma wife was also a two-term
legislator.
The voting process
began for 10 seats at 7 am and for the remaining 10 seats, it began at 8 am
amid tight security.
Chhattisgarh is
undergoing elections in two phases, with the second phase scheduled for
November 17.
There are a total
of 223 candidates in the fray for 20 seats. At least, 5,304 voting booths have
been set up by the election commission for this phase. There are 40,78,681
voters in this phase. Of these, there are 19,93,937 male voters and 20,84,675
female voters.
In this phase 13
of the 20 seats are reserved for SC/STs. Overall, in the State, 29 seats are
reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled
Castes (SCs).
The counting of
votes is scheduled for December 3.
ANI
