All preparations have been completed ahead of the Bastar Lok Sabha elections wherein 14,72,207 voters including 7,00,476 male, 7,71,679 female voters and 52 third gender voters will exercise their franchise at 1961 polling stations on Friday. Talking to mediapersons here on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Chhattisgarh Reena Babasaheb Kangale said that voting will be held from 7 am to 3 pm at Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Jagdalpur (total 72 polling stations), Chitrakote, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta assembly constituencies. Voting will be held at Bastar and Jagdalpur (remaining 175 polling stations) assembly constituencies from 7 am to 5 pm. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there were a total 13,77,935 voters and now there are a total 14,72,207 voters. 47,010 young voters, whose ages are between 18 and 19, cast their votes for the first time in the Bastar Lok Sabha elections. There are 12,703 divyang voters, 3,487 voters (above 85 years), 119 voters (above 100 years) and 1603 service voters in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency. The gender ratio is 1000:1102 in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency. Average voter per polling station is 870. In the last Lok Sabha elections-2019, 66.04 per cent voters cast their votes.

 

In the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, there are 191 Sangwari polling stations, which will be managed by female polling staff and security personnel. 36 polling stations will be managed by youth. Eight polling stations will be managed by divyang polling parties and 42 Adarsh polling stations have been established. A dry day has been announced 48 hours prior to polling in the Bastar Lok Sabha constituencies and adjacent districts, starting from 3 pm on April 17 until the completion of the polling process. Eleven candidates are in the fray for the Bastar Lok Sabha seat, in which there are three candidates from recognised political parties, six candidates from registered political parties (un-recognised) and two independent candidates. Kawasi Lakhma from the Indian National Congress, Maheshram Kashyap from the BJP, Narendra Burka from the Hamar Raj Party, Kawalsingh Baghel from the Rashtriya Jansabha Party, Aayaturam Mandavi from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Phulsingh Kachlam from the CPI, Shivram Nag from the Sarv Aadi Dal, Sundar Baghel as an independent candidate, Teekam Nagvanshi from the Gondwana Gantantra Party, Jagdish Prasad Nag from the Azad Janata Party, and Prakash Kumar Gota from the Swatantra Dal are in the fray from Bastar Lok Sabha seat.

 

On Thursday, both major political parties, the BJP and the Congress, engaged in door-to-door campaigning to attract voters. The primary contest for the Bastar Lok Sabha seat is between Kawasi Lakhma representing the Indian National Congress and Maheshram Kashyap from the BJP. Apart from the voter photo identity card, voters will be able to cast their vote by showing 12 other alternative photo documents – Aadhaar Card, MNREGA Job Card, Driving License, PAN Card, Indian Passport, Pension Document with Photo, service identity cards with photo issued by Central / State Government / PSU / Public Limited Companies to their employees, passbooks with photo issued by banks / post offices, smart cards issued by RGI under NPR, Health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, Government Identity Card issued to Members of Parliament/MLAs/Legislative Council and Unique Disability ID (UDID) card issued to Persons with Disabilities by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. On the polling day April 19, 2024, a public and general holiday was declared in all the assembly constituencies of Bastar Lok Sabha. Similarly, the Labour Department has also declared April 19, 2024 as “paid holiday” for workers. As of April 17, 2024, a combined total of 219 voters, including 135 individuals aged above 85 and 84 individuals with disabilities, have participated in the electoral process via door-to-door postal voting in the assembly constituencies of the first phase.

 

Additionally, 2188 postal ballots have been received at the assistance centers managed by election duty officers/employees. Out of 1603 service voters, 140 postal ballots have been received as of April 17. In Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, 7844 polling personnel have been deployed across 1961 polling stations, with an additional 2020 personnel held in reserve. The Indian Air Force and BSF choppers have dispatched 156 polling parties comprising 919 personnel to the designated polling stations. In Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, 61 polling stations are categorized as vulnerable and 196 as critical, where CAPF personnel are stationed, along with arrangements for webcasting, videography, and micro-observation. Furthermore, 307 sector officers have been deployed to provide updates on the polling percentage to the Returning Officer every two hours. BLOs will be present at the Voters Assistance Booth in every polling station with the alphabetical voter list and will help the voters to find their name and serial number. 2556 CU, 2729 VVPAT and 2600 BU have been provided. Web casting facility has been provided at 811 polling centres out of 1961 polling stations where the Election Commission of India will keep a close watch.