Assembly Polls: 60% Voter Turnout Recorded In Chhattisgarh Till 3 PM, Nearly 70% In Mizoram

Assembly Polls: As of 3 PM, more than 58 per cent of voters turned up to exercise their franchise in Chhattisgarh while Mizoram recorded a turnout of over 65 per cent.

As of 3 PM, more than 58 per cent of voters turned up to exercise their franchise in Chhattisgarh

Source : PTI

Assembly Elections 2023: Voting began on Tuesday morning for the 40-seat assembly in Mizoram and 20 constituencies in Chhattisgarh. As of 3 PM, more than 60 per cent of voters turned up to exercise their franchise in Chhattisgarh while Mizoram recorded a turnout of nearly 70 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Till 1 PM, 44.55 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Chhattisgarh while Mizoram recorded a turnout of 52.73 per cent

Mizoram Additional Chief Electoral Officer H Lianzela said polling has been "peaceful and there has been no law and order issue till now," reported PTI.

In Chhattisgarh, Bastar Range IG Sundarraj Pattilingam said that elaborate security arrangements have been made for a smooth voting process. "Out of over 2,900 polling booths, 600 polling booths are considered to be in the high security zone in Bastar region. A three-layer security cordon has been prepared for these polling booths," he said.

A CRPF commando was injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district while his unit was undertaking an area domination operation to ensure security during the polls, reported news agency PTI.

A brief exchange of fire took place between Naxalites and security personnel near Banda polling station in Sukma district.

According to PTI, another encounter took place between security forces and Naxalites in Orchha police station area of Narayanpur district. However, no harm was reported to security personnel in these two incidents, police said.

Polling began at 7 am in 10 of the 20 assembly constituencies where elections are being held in the first phase. It will end at 3 pm.

Voting in the remaining 10 seats started at 8 am and will end at 5 pm.

The remaining 70 seats will see voting on November 17 in the second and last phase of polling for the 90-member state assembly. 

Tuesday's polling has begun the elections in five states -- Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan and results will be declared on Dec 3.