Chhattisgarh goes to polls amid unprecedented security

The electronic voting machines were for Mankapal, Madoki and Pordem constituencies.

Prominent leaders whose fate will be sealed include Chief Minister Raman Singh, Leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma, Speaker Premprakash Pandey and ministers Hemchand Yadav, Lata Usendi, Ajay Chandrakar and Kedar Kashyap.

Five people have been killed by naxalites in the run up to the polls. The CRPF which already has 14 battalions (14,000 personnel) in the state for anti-naxal operations, has sent additional 88 companies (about 9000 personnel) as directed by the Election Commission for the polls.

For the first time Border Security Force has also been pressed into action in the state with the deployment of 70 companies (about 700 personnel) of the force in the highly sensitive Dantewada, Bijapur and Jagdalpur districts.

Voting time has been changed for 12 constituencies in the Naxal-hit Bastar division — Dantewada, Konta, Bijapur, Chitrakote, Narayanpur, Bhanupratappur, Anagarh, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Kanker where voting will be held between 7 AM and 3 PM, officials in the state election office said.

Also, helicopters have been used for transport of polling materials and officials for 251 polling booths spanning cross six assembly constituencies in Bastar.

Women outnumber men in the 39 Assembly constituencies.

According to the figures released by the Election Commission, 32,08,351 women will be eligible to exercise their franchise as compared to 31,89,489 men.

They electorate will decide the fate of 379 candidates.

As many as 8,879 polling booths have been set up for the first phase of voting.

Vaishali Nagar in Durg will see 19 — the highest number of candidates from a constituency in the electoral fray where as Konta has the lowest number of candidates– four.

The rest 51 seats will be go to polls on November 20.