Chhattisgarh recorded a voter turnout of 71.48 percent till 5 pm amid Maoist attacks while Mizoram saw 77.83 percent till 3 pm on November 7.
As many as 8,52,088 voters were registered in Mizoram while 40,78,680 voters had registered in Chhattisgarh. The Election Commission said the voter turnout is expected to increase once reports from all polling stations, including those in remote areas, are received. Voters who arrived at polling stations by the end of polling hours were allowed to cast their votes.
The first phase of voting was concluded for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh, including several constituencies that fall under the Maoist-affected Bastar division. The state saw an IED blast in Sukma district and exchange of fire between Maoists and security forces in Kanker district. An officer from the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in the first incident while in the second incident reports suggest Maoists were injured.
In Chhattisgarh, residents of 126 villages in Bastar division voted for the first time in their villages. While Chhattisgarh is witnessing a direct fight between the Congress and BJP, Mizoram is seeing a third front emerge – the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) resulting in a three-pronged battle.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray include Chhattisgarh Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakot), ministers Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Mohan Markam (Kondagaon) and Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha) as well as Chhavindra Karma (Dantewada). For the BJP, former chief minister Raman Singh is contesting from Ranjangaon against the Congress leader Girish Dewangan, according to Indian Express.
In Mizoram, the MNF, Congress and Zoram’s People Movement are fighting from all 40 constituencies, while BJP, AAP and Independents are contesting 23 seats, 4 and 27, respectively.
All the 40 assembly constituencies in Mizoram went to polls in the single-phase election while elections to 20 assembly constituencies were held in Chhattisgarh in the first phase of elections. Chhattisgarh has 90 assembly constituencies. A total of 174 candidates were in the fray in the northeastern state while 223 leaders contested in Chhattisgarh.
Mizoram usually witnesses high voter turnouts. In 2018, the total voter turnout was 84.9 per cent with a total of 6,28,608 votes polled.
The second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh along with single-phase polling in Madhya Pradesh will take place on November 17. Rajasthan and Telangana will undergo single-phase voting on November 25 and 30, respectively. The counting of votes in all the states will be conducted on December 3.
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