Raipur : Nearly 37.87 percent polling was recorded by 1 pm as against 19.65 percent by 11 am and 5.7 percent voting by 9 am in the second and final phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections today. In this phase, polling is held for 70 seats of the 90-member house. The polls for the other 20 seats predominantly in Maoist-affected areas were held on November 7. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are locked in a keen contest for power.
Naxalites, who had spread terror in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections, continued to do so in the second phase also. They carried out an incident of arson on the mobile tower of a private mobile company in Achinpur village in Chhotabetiya police station area in Kanker. The mobile network in the area has been shut down due to fire in the generator of the mobile tower. Mobile Tower Communication Company is engaged in the improvement of mobile towers.
Kanker SP Divyang Patel said that the Naxalites are carrying out such incidents due to frustration with the development work taking place in the area and the consequential decreasing support base.
Political stalwarts, who are in the poll fray today, include Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Deputy CM TS Singh Deo. Over 18,800 polling stations have been set up with over 958 candidates set to test their electoral luck. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying to make its presence felt while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also making a strong bid to wing some seats.
The BJP, which ruled Chhattisgarh for three consecutive terms from 2003 to 2018, is making relentless efforts to win back power. About 1,63,14,479 voters are eligible to cast their votes.
CM Bhupesh Baghel is contesting from his traditional seat, Patan segment, where his nephew and MP Vijay Baghel has entered the fray on the BJP ticket yet again. Here, former CM Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi is contesting on the Janata Congress ticket. In yet another key constituency, Deputy CM Singh Deo is in the fray from the Ambikapur Assembly constituency. He is facing BJP nominee Rajesh Agrawal, who was a former Congress leader.
Charan Das Mahant, present Speaker of Chhattisgarh Assembly, is being challenged by BJP's Khilawan Sahu in the Sakti assembly segment. BJP's Chhattisgarh chief and MP Arun Sao is contesting from Lormi constituency where he is facing Congress candidate Thaneshwar Sahu. Revenue Minister Jai Singh Agrawal is in the fray from Korba segment where BJP has fielded party vice president Lakhanlal Dewangan. The counting of votes to the Chhattisgarh will be taken up on December 3 along with the other four States.
Regarding arson in Kanker, sources said that Naxalites have been carrying out attacks on mobile towers regularly. On 21 November 2022, Naxalites had set on fire a mobile tower in Jiram Tarai located in Koyalibera. After this incident, the mobile network in the area was shut down. On December 2, 2022, Naxalites blew up the Jio network of Kodapakha. On the other hand, Jio Tower of Manhakal village, just six kilometers away from Kodapakha, was also set on fire.
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