Just ahead of the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls on Tuesday, comprising all 12 seats in the Bastar region, Naxalites carried out an IED blast in Narayanpur district, resulting in the injury of a soldier who is currently receiving treatment in the district hospital. Another soldier was injured in an IED blast in Kanker district.
Reportedly, 53 ITBP personnel were conducting a search operation in the Sonpur police station area of Narayanpur district. In addition, Naxalites detonated an IED near the Rengawahi paddy procurement centre in the Chhotabethiya police station area of Kanker district, injuring a soldier who was part of a search team. The injured soldier is also undergoing treatment in a hospital.
The voting process commenced at 7 am in 10 out of the 20 Assembly constituencies in the first phase and will continue until 3 pm. These constituencies include Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Konta.
In the remaining 10 Assembly constituencies, voting is set to start at 8 am and continue until 5 pm. These constituencies are Pandaria, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakote.