Click to play videoRajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh): Sporadic violence marred the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh.
A minor Congress-BJP clash was reported along with violence in the southern Bastar region where Naxalites hold sway.
Maoists also triggered a string of landmine blasts to scare voters. Three persons including two polling personnel were injured.
Electronic Voting Machines were also stolen at a few polling booths. At several places police had to fire on suspected Naxalites trying to disrupt polls.
Most of the violence was reported from the constituency of leader of the Opposition in Dantewara, Mahendra Karma.
The Naxal guns had an adverse impact during the first phase of polling in Chattisgarh. Not many turned up to vote in Naxal-affected areas even as security was beefed up in and around polling booths.
But people thought this scale of violence was anticipated. Many even said, “If these things don't happen then how is it election time?”
The Election Commission felt that the voter turnout was satisfactory, in spite of the violence. “According to our information polling was around the range of 55 per cent,” Deputy Election Commissioner R Bhattacharya said.
The BJP had won more than two thirds of the seats that went to the polls on Friday in the last election. The Congress has reasons to worry if the BJP manages to repeat its performance this time as well.
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