Bastar: 2 Maoist blasts rock Bastar on eve of election, 4 injured | India News

RAIPUR: Maoist IED explosions left two polling personnel and an equal number of paramilitary jawans wounded in Bastar‘s Kanker and Narayanpur districts on Monday, a day before the first phase of voting in Chhattisgarh.
Maoists have called for a boycott of the assembly polls. In the fortnight leading up to the polls, five people, including two BJP leaders, were murdered by Maoists in Bastar.

The first phase involves 20 constituencies, 12 of which are in the Maoist-affected Bastar division. A total of 60,000 security personnel were deployed in Bastar alone, including 40,000 central forces, contributing to a total of one lakh security personnel for all 20 seats. The security presence equates to approximately three police personnel for every 100 voters. Drones and helicopters have also been deployed to ensure peaceful polling.

Bastar has an electorate of around 20.4 lakh, with women constituting 51%. Notably, 35 polling booths were guarded by women commandos from the Bastar Fighters force. Voting hours varied on the 20 seats, with polling to take place from 7am to 3pm on 10 of the worst Maoist-hit seats and from 8am to 5pm on the remaining 10.

According to sources, some polling parties in the insurgency-ridden Bijapur district were hesitant to travel to assigned polling booths in remote areas as the Maoists had issued warnings against polling personnel accompanying security forces. To address these concerns, some teams will be transported on motorcycles, while others will be flown by helicopters, especially in light of the recent IED blast in Kanker, the sources said.

Key candidates in this phase included former CM Raman Singh of BJP in Rajnandgaon, state Congress president Deepak Baij in Chitrakot (ST). CM Bhupesh Baghel expressed confidence in Congress, saying: “Chhattisgarh people have made up their mind. BJP won’t even get 15 seats (2018 tally) this time.” In contrast, Raman Singh highlighted the need for change: “Congress has looted Chhattisgarh in the past five years.”
The first blast on Monday took place around 4pm. An IED activated by a pressure plate detonated in the Rengagondi region, wounding BSF constable Chandraprakash Sewal and two polling officials.
In Narayanpur, an ITBP jawan Amit Khan was wounded while defusing an IED.