An encounter between the Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Naxals erupted in the forest area near Orchha police station in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. Fortunately, the STF personnel remained unharmed as the Naxals retreated during the encounter. Security forces are currently conducting a search of the area. Officials emphasized that the information circulating on social media about Naxals surrounding polling booths is inaccurate, and voting is proceeding as scheduled.
With voting for the first phase in Chhattisgarh polls underway, the Naxals fired at District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel deployed for an outer cordon around 2 kilometres away from Banda polling station on Tuesday morning, police officials said. “Security forces retaliated and the firing from Naxals’ side stopped after 10 minutes,” the police stated. Meanwhile, all jawans are safe, and voting continues, they added.
In a separate incident earlier on Tuesday, a Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) jawan was injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast triggered by Naxals in the Tondamarka area of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh. The jawan was deployed for election duty at the time of the explosion.
Chhattisgarh, with its 90-member legislative assembly, is undergoing elections in two phases, with the second phase scheduled for November 17. Of the 20 constituencies currently undergoing polling in the state, 12 are located in the Bastar division, including areas affected by Naxal activity. Voting is taking place in districts like Bastar, Dantewada, Kanker, Kabeerdham, and Rajnandgaon.
The final step in this electoral process, the counting of votes, is set for December 3, after which the composition of the new legislative assembly will be determined.