Chhattisgarh Elections: IED Blast Couldn't Deter Voters As Kanker Reports Over 75% Turnout, Phase 1 Average 71%

Chhattisgarh reported a voter turnout of 71.11 per cent in the first phase of polling held on 20 seats and Mizoram reported 77.50 per cent turnout on Tuesday (7 November).

The turnout in Chhattisgarh is lower than the previous years and can be attributed to the IED blast that hit Kanker district in Naxal-hit Bastar region a day before the voting.

In 2018, when the first phase of elections were held on 18 constituencies of Chhattisgarh, the voter turnout was 76.42 per cent. In 2013, the overall turnout was 75.3 per cent.

However, in the Kanker district itself, the voter turnout was better than the avverage with 75.51 per cent. The lowest turnout was observed in Bijapur with 40.98 per cent, followed by Sukma with 50.12 per cent.

Notably, the Election Commission had made efforts for a higher turnout by establishing 126 new polling stations in LWE-affected areas of Bastar division.