A total voter turnout of 76.24 per cent was recorded in three Lok Sabha seats of Chhattisgarh under the second phase Lok Sabha elections held on Friday. In Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency, an impressive voter turnout of 77.42 percent was recorded, whereas 75.02 percent voting was recorded in Mahasamund Lok Sabha seat and an equally notable 76.23 per cent was registered in the restive Kanker Lok Sabha seat. In Pandaria assembly constituency, 71.97 per cent voter turnout was recorded, 75.83 per cent in Kawardha assembly constituency, 78.04 per cent in Khairagarh assembly constituency, 79.41 per cent in Dongargarh assembly constituency, 77.20 per cent in Rajnandgaon assembly constituency, 82.36 per cent in Dongargaon assembly constituency, 81.62 per cent in Khujji assembly constituency and 77.09 per cent in Mohla-Manpur under Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat. In Saraipali assembly constituency, total voter turnout 75.22 per cent was recorded, 74.83 per cent in Basna assembly constituency, 70.43 per cent in Khallari assembly constituency, 69.12 per cent in Mahasamund assembly constituency, 75.59 per cent in Rajim assembly constituency, 81.19 per cent in Bindranavagarh assembly constituency, 77.67 per cent in Kurud assembly constituency and 75.70 per cent in Dhamtari assembly constituency under Mahasamund Lok Sabha seat.

 

In Sihawa assembly constituency, total 79.93 per cent voter turnout was recorded, 75.88 per cent in Sanjari Balod assembly constituency, 74.93 per cent in Dondilohara assembly constituency, 74.40 per cent in Gunderdehi assembly constituency, 74.99 per cent in Antagarh assembly constituency, 76.18 per cent in Bhanupratappur assembly constituency, 76.95 per cent in Kanker assembly constituency and 77.11 per cent in Keshkal assembly constituency under Kanker Lok Sabha seat. In the last Lok Sabha elections-2019, 76.04 percent voters cast their votes in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency, 74.51 percent in Mahasamund Lok Sabha seat and 74.27 per cent in Kanker Lok Sabha seat. In the second phase, 1.3 per cent voter turnout was recorded in these three Lok Sabha seats of the state in the Lok Sabha elections-2024. Meanwhile, total voter turnout of 68.30 per cent was recorded in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh where polling was held under the first phase on April 19. In the last Lok Sabha elections-2019, 66.04 per cent voters cast their votes in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency. 2.25 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Bastar Lok Sabha election in the Lok Sabha elections-2024. In these three- Mahasamund, Kanker and Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seats, there were 330 Sangwari polling stations, which were managed by female polling staff and security personnel. 117 polling stations were managed by youth. 25 polling stations were managed by Divyang polling parties and 120 Adarsh polling stations were established.

 

In these three Lok Sabha seats, 26,268 polling personnel of 6567 polling parties were deployed, with an additional 6,639 personnel held in reserve. In these three Lok Sabha seats, a total 222 companies of security forces were deployed for ensuring free and fair Lok Sabha elections. 23 polling stations were categorized as vulnerable and 458 as critical, where CAPF personnel are stationed, along with arrangements for webcasting, videography, and micro-observation. Furthermore, 715 sector officers were deployed to provide updates on the polling percentage to the Returning Officer every two hours. The fates of total 41 candidates were sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in these three Lok Sabha seats of the state. There were 38 male candidates and 3 female candidates contesting in the second phase. The fates of nine candidates- namely Indian National Congress candidate Biresh Thakur, BJP candidate Bhojraj Nag, Tilakram Markam, Jeevanlal Matlam, Thakesh Mahla, Bhojram Mandavi, Vinod Kumar Nagvanshi, Sukchand Netam and Sonsingh for Kanker Lok Sabha seat were sealed in the EVMs.

 

15 candidates namely – Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Devlal Sinha, Indian National Congress candidate Bhupesh Baghel, BJP candidate Santosh Pandey, Shakti Sena party candidate Narad Prasad Nishad, Bharatiya Shakti Chetna Party Ramesh Rajput, Nyay Dharm Sabha candidate Ramphal Patil, Hamar Raj Party candidate Lalita Kanwar, Rashtriya Jansabha Party candidate Lakhan Singh, independent candidates Ajay Pali, Trivedi Padoti, Basant Kumar Meshram, Bhuwan Sahu, Vishesh Dhamgaye, A H Siddiqui and Sukhdev Sinha were in the fray for Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat. 17 candidates- namely Indian National Congress candidate Tamradhwaj Sahu, BJP candidate Roopkumari Choudhary, Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Basant Sinha, independent candidates Sukhnandan Deshkar, Champalal Guruji, Santosh Darchand Banjare, Mukesh Kumar Agrawal, Nitesh Kumar Ratre, Ganesh Ram Dhruw, Farid Quereshi, Mahesh Swarna, Professor Suresh Sahu, Narad Prasad Nishad, Dr Virendra Choudhary, Ishwar Markandey, Kalia Prasad Seth and Rekhram Baghel were in the fray in Mahasamund Lok Sabha seat. Polled EVMs were sealed in the strong rooms of these three Lok Sabha constituencies on Saturday.