Security personnel look on as voters stand in queue to cast their votes at a polling station
Mizoram and Chhattisgarh elections: On Tuesday, the first of Chhattisgarh’s two phases of elections will take place. There will be voting in 20 seats, some of which are in the Bastar region, which is rife with Naxals. Mizoram, a state in northeastern India, will cast votes to choose its 40-member assembly.
Both poll-bound states have implemented extensive security measures to guarantee a secure and seamless voting process. In order to avoid any unpleasant situations during the voting process, the security personnel are alert.
Mizoram and Chhattisgarh elections
In preparation for Tuesday’s elections, the Central Reserve Police Force stationed more officers in the state of Chhattisgarh. media was informed by a senior CRPF official that poll workers have departed for their designated sites.
According to media reports, three levels of security will guard more than 600 polling places in Bastar, a region severely affected by naxalism. To maintain the security of the area, about 60,000 security personnel—40,000 from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and 20,000 from the state police—have been stationed in Bastar.
Helicopters and drones will also be utilized to keep an eye on any Naxal activities in the area. According to the report, a dog squad and a bomb disposal team would also be dispatched.
Two companies of the CRPF’s commando battalions stationed in sensitive areas
Prior to the Chhattisgarh elections, DG CRPF Sujoy Lal Thaosen and other senior officers visited the Forward Operating Base of 131 Bn in the Tondamarka, Sukma region devastated by the Naxals. “We are keeping a special focus on polling booths in places such as Mirminda, Kurma, and Elmagunda where polling booths have been set up for the first time,” the officer said.
Two more companies of the CRPF’s commando battalions (CoBRA) have been stationed in sensitive areas, according to another commander. Additionally, the state has welcomed 62 more CRPF firms. An estimated 40,78,681 voters—19,93,937 men, 20,84,675 women, and 69 third-gender individuals—will decide the destiny of 223 candidates in the first round of voting.
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Polling on 40 seats of Mizoram
Ahead of the polling in 40 seats of Mizoram, the state’s chief Electoral Officer Madhup Vyas said, “We have to see the strategic position of Mizoram… The border is very porous, and we have a visa-free regime. So 16 km on both sides, people can freely enter the other country without any visa requirements. That can be misused by anti-social elements… We have been successful in checking this movement of contraband goods through coordination with central and state agencies.”
In Mizoram, about fifty CAPF companies are stationed to guarantee free and fair elections. The Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer reports that 8,52,088 voters—4,13,064 men and 4,39,028 women—will cast ballots at 1276 polling places to exercise their right to vote.
