Ballot beats bullet: Record 76.28% voting in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: The turnout in the first phase of polling in Maoist-hit Bastar and Rajnandgaon hit a record 76.28% — a sign that the people of Chhattisgarh have chosen the ballot over the fear of ultras’ bullets.

Till 10pm on Monday, polling stood at 66%, which was close to the 67% seen in the last Lok Sabha election. Data from remote polling stations was yet to come in. After it was compiled on Tuesday, the Election Commission announced the final count at 75.9%, which is higher than the 2013 assembly turnout of

People came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise even in the worst Naxal-affected constituencies, defying the Maoist diktat on boycotting the polls, said officials.

Releasing the final statistics a day after the polling, state chief electoral officer (CEO) Subrat Sahoo said that the highest turnout of 85.15% was recorded in Dongergaon and the lowest (47.35%) in Bijapur, one of the worst hit by insurgency. In fact, it was the highest turnout in Bijapur in 10 years (29% in 2008 and 45% in 2013), he pointed out.

Asked about the overnight rise in voting percentage, a former CEO said that it wasn’t unusual since information always takes time to arrive from remote booths.

In the high-profile constituency of Rajnandgaon, chief minister Raman Singh’s bastion, the final polling percentage was an impressive 78.66%. Till 8pm on Monday, it was at 70.5%.

Singh is competing with Congress’ Karuna Shukla, niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

As per statistics released by election officials, 10 constituencies exceeded or at least matched the high figures of 2013. Antagarh (74.45%), Narayanpur (74.4%), Jagdalpur (78.24%), Chitrakot (80.31%) and Konta (55.33%) broke 10-year records in Maoist-hit Bastar.

Five seats in Rajnandgaon — Dongargaon (85.15%), Khairagarh (84.31%), Khujji (84.48%), Dongergarh (82.53%) and Mohala Manpur (80%) — nearly matched the highs of 2013.

As many as 4,341 polling stations, spread across 18 constituencies, were set up for the first phase of election in Chhattisgarh.