Sukma: Ahead of voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha election 2024, Naxalites have barged inside a polling station and drawn anti-government graffiti and slogans asking the locals to abstain from voting in the parliamentary elections in Sukma district of restive Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
Voting will be held on Bastar Lok Sabha seat on April 19. The Naxalites, who were throwing leaflets on the roadside and in the village streets asking locals to boycott the Lok Sabha elections, have now started reaching the polling stations as well.
Local sources said that on Tuesday April 16, Naxalites barged inside the polling station in Kerlapeda of Nagaram cluster center of Konta development block of Sukma district and drew anti-government and anti-election graffiti there. "No person will vote in this polling station. For whom leaders are to be made? Leaders are made for their own luxury. Leaders beat up the public (later)," reads the slogan written by the Naxalites.
Voting at the Keralapeda polling center in Sukma district will start from 7 am on Friday as the first phase of Lok Sabha election begins. A total of 791 voters will exercise their franchise at the polling station. These include 446 female voters and 345 male voters. Voting will take place in Naxal areas till 3 pm.
The Election Commission has completed the preparations for voting in the Naxal affected Bastar as security has been beefed up in the entire state. Soldiers have been deployed at every nook and corner in Bastar with more than one lakh soldiers put on duty in the division.
Kawasi Lakhma vs Mahesh Kashyap: Congress's Kawasi Lakhma is contesting against BJP's Mahesh Kashyap on Bastar seat. Kawasi Lakhma is a former Chief Minister and 6-time MLA from Konta Assembly of Sukma district. Mahesh Kashyap has been a former sarpanch. BJP has fielded him for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections.
Voters on Bastar seat: Bastar has 14.72 lakh voters expected to cast their votes on Bastar Lok Sabha seat. A total of 1961 polling stations have been set up with polling parties sent to sensitive polling stations with the help of helicopters.
Eight Assembly Seats in Bastar Lok Sabha: There are eight assembly seats in Bastar Lok Sabha seat. These eight seats include Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar Assembly, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta. All eight assembly seats are counted in Naxal affected districts.