Raipur: Despite Maoists' call for a boycott, voters in Chattisgarh came out in decent number to exercise their voting right. Till 1 pm, the voter turnout was over 25 per cent. Voting began in 18 of 90 constituencies in Chhattisgarh today, in the first phase of assembly polls. As many as one lakh security personnel, including paramilitary forces, have been posted in the state. Amid Maoists call for boycott, the security forces are using drones to keep vigil in polling districts. Of the 18 seats going to polls in the first phase, eight are held by the Congress and the rest by the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have accused Congress of supporting "urban Naxals". Three-time Chief Minister Raman Singh is being challenged by Karuna Shukla, niece of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Janta Congress Chhattisgarh party led by Ajit Jogi has been wooing tribals by offering farm loans waivers and jobs for the youth.
The second phase of the Chhattisgarh election will be held on November 20 and the votes will be counted on December 11 along with that of of Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan where assembly polls will be held over the coming weeks.
Here are the LIVE updates on Chhattisgarh assembly elections Phase 1
Nov 20, 2018 09:28 (IST)
After a promising 76.28 per cent turnout in the 18-seat first phase in Maoist affected areas, the second phase is seeing voting for 72 seats spread across 19 districts. More than 1.5 crore people are eligible to vote in over 19,000 polling booths, deciding the fates of many high-profile leaders.
Nov 20, 2018 09:27 (IST)
Voting has started for the second and final phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections amid elaborate security arrangements including more than one lakh personnel, helicopters and drones.
Nov 12, 2018 18:30 (IST)
Election Commission says that nine cases of paid news were reported in the first phase of Chhattisgarh polls.
Nov 12, 2018 18:29 (IST)
Election Commission says failure of voting machines and VVPAT was negligible during the first phase of polling. VVPAT was used in all polling stations and replacement of these till 5pm was extremely low, only 1 per cent EVMs were replaced.
Nov 12, 2018 18:25 (IST)
Voting at Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot, where polling started at 8 a.m., ended at 5 p.m.
Nov 12, 2018 18:24 (IST)
Polling in 10 constituencies -- Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon -- started at 7 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m.
Nov 12, 2018 18:11 (IST)
Polling for all 18 seats in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections has ended. 187 candidates were fighting in the first phase.
Nov 12, 2018 15:01 (IST)
After the Nilwaya Maoist attack, the challenges have gone up. Maoists had threatened villagers against voting. We assured the villagers of a secure environment, put in place a three level security so that people can vote without fear:CRPF official quoted by news agency ANI
Nov 12, 2018 13:41 (IST)
25.15 per cent voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018.
Nov 12, 2018 12:28 (IST)
Certain sources are spreading rumours that EVMs are malfunctioning repeatedly. This is to clarify that above information is false. Voting is going on smoothly. If at all, any glitches are noticed, issue is sorted out as quickly as possible: Election Commission
Nov 12, 2018 12:20 (IST)
Voters in Jagdalpur's Gandhi Nagar ward protested outside the polling centre. They say names of many voters were missing from the voting list.
Nov 12, 2018 11:55 (IST)
Thirty-one EVMs and 61 VVPAT machines were replaced due to technical snags, a poll official said.
Nov 12, 2018 11:33 (IST)
Polling in 18 assembly constituencies in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh elections began on a slow note on Monday with about 14 per cent of the electorate casting their votes in the first few hours.
