Defying Maoist diktat that threw up a tough challenge for the polling staff as well as the voters in several sensitive constituencies of Bastar, people queued up in large numbers to make their most powerful weapon the vote count in the first phase of the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.

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The efforts of the Maoists to disrupt election process were foiled by vigilant security forces which are dominating Bastar with a presence of over 56,000 troops.

In rural areas, people came out in large numbers to cast vote despite being busy in harvesting paddy. The large turnout resulted in over 60 per cent polling in the Maoist-affected Bastar region.

Overall, it was 67 per cent. 

Maoists managed to run their writ in highly sensitive constituencies of Bijapur and Konta that polled poorly 40 and 24 per cent respectively.

People took chance in Maoist-affected constituencies of Dantewada, Narayanpur and Kondagaon that witnessed high polling percentage of 67, 62 and 78 respectively. 

Remaining true to their resolve, remote villages of Koleng and Chhindlur in Jagdalpur constituency, boycotted the polls only seven votes were polled.  A day earlier, dna had reported that despite having pro-BJP village head, both villages had decided not to vote because of no road and electricity.

Both the main contender parties – BJP and Congress – interpreted high polling in their favour.

The BJP claimed high pro-incumbency factor as people want it to retain power. The Congress said the high polling was due to high anti-incumbency and a clear verdict against the BJP’s corruption-ridden and anti-poor government.

However, most poll observers maintain that the BJP desperately needs a stellar performance in the 18 constituencies to come back to power and the high polling percentage in all probability was anti-incumbency and to some extent against Maoist violence.

If this observation is correct, then the Congress can give a tough fight to the BJP by wresting back at least four to eight of the 18 seats that went to polls on Monday as on the 72 seats due to go to polls on November 19, BJP and Congress are expected to equally share the spoils with a difference of two three seats.

However, the CPI could emerge as a crucial factor in Bastar and mar the chances of both the parties. Fighting on eight seats, it is expected to win at least Konta where popular candidate Manish Kunjam in in the fray, and can give tough fight in Dantewada and Chitrakot. 

An interesting contest to watch would be on Rajnandgaon seat where Alka Mudliar, wife of the slain Congress leader Uday Mudliar, is up against popular chief minister Raman Singh. A swing in votes in Alka’s favour would testify if the Congress has been able to encash sympathy votes of Jiramghati massacre where it lost most of its state leadership, including state president Nandkumar Patel. 

Situation on the ground seen by the dna clearly showed that while Raman Singh remains a popular leader with clean image, the same is not true for the BJP as a party. 

Moreover, Raman Singh’s success in providing rice at Re 1 and 2 to almost every poor that has popularised him as Chawal wale Baba may not prove enough this time to woo the voters as villagers know that no party can take it away.

Reflecting this, Tiharu Ram Samrath of Garh Pichhwadi village in Kanker told dna, “Raman Singh ne achchha kaam kiya hai who kaam to ab koi bhi party karegi magar kya pataa kuchh aur zyada kare (Any party will do the good work Raman Singh has done, but who knows it might do more also).”