Lok Sabha polls: Voting begins in Naxal-hit Bastar seat of Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Voting began on Thursday amid tight security in the Maoist-hit Bastar parliamentary constituency of Chhattisgarh, where BJP sitting MP Dinesh Kashyap, son of former Opposition leader late Mahendra Karma, Deepak and teacher-turned-activist Soni Sori are locked in a triangular fight.  The polling commenced in the Bastar Lok Sabha seat at 7 am, an election official told PTI in Raipur. The electorate in seven assembly constituencies–Bastar, Chitrakot, Narayanpur, Bijapur, Konta, Kondagaon and Dantewada – of the region can vote till 3 pm while in the single Jagdalpur Vidhan Sabha seat, polling will take place upto 4 pm, he said. Eight candidates including two women are in the fray for Bastar, which is the lone parliamentary seat going to polls in in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. A total of 12,98,971 voters including 6,33,681 men and 6,65,290 women will exercise their franchise in Bastar where 8,625 polling personnel have been employed for the electoral process. Of the 1,797 booths in Bastar, 1,407 booths have been marked as ‘critical’ and all steps have been taken to ensure free and fearless polling there, the official said. Over 872 digital/video cameras have been installed to monitor polling process in the naxal-infested region. Also, 1,977 EVM control unit and 2,156 ballot units have been placed for polling in the constituency. Besides, two air ambulances are stationed at Raipur and Jagdalpur to tackle any emergency. BJP has once again fielded in its old face and sitting MP Dinesh Kashyap, who is the son of veteran BJP leader and a renowned tribal face late Baliram Kashyap. While Congress has reposed faith in Deepak Karma whose father Mahendra Karma, founder of Salva Judum movement, was killed in the Jiram valley Naxal attack on 25 May last year, to garner sympathy votes. However, with the entry of AAP candidate Soni Sori, a tribal teacher from Dantewada region, the contest this time has become three-cornered. Sori is likely to gain support from remote areas. Other candidates in the fray are: Manbodh Baghel (BSP), Shankar Ram Thakur (SP), Vimla Sori (CPI), Devchand Dhruv (CPI (ML) and Arjun Singh Thakur (Ambedkarite Party of India). PTI