Jagdalpur, April 19 (Hindustan Reporter) In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh, voters in the only Bastar Lok Sabha seat, ignoring Naxal fear, chose ballot instead of bullet. It is noteworthy that BJP leader Panchmadas Manikpuri, resident of village Dandvan of Farasgaon block of Narayanpur, was murdered by Naxalites two days ago. Today, thousands of villagers voted in the polling booth of the same village Dandvan and in a way, ignoring the Naxal fear, paid tribute to the deceased BJP leader.
A video of which has been uploaded in the official website of the Chief Electoral Officer of Chhattisgarh and information has been given, in which thousands of voters can be seen standing in the queue to vote, waiting for their turn. It is noteworthy that more than one lakh security forces and 10 thousand polling personnel, more than 14 lakh voters of Bastar are participating in the celebration of democracy in Bastar.
From the divisional headquarters Jagdalpur to the interior villages of Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, there is a lot of enthusiasm about the elections among the voters. Displaced polling stations have been created for 234 highly Naxal affected villages of Bastar. Even in such areas, villagers came on foot, in tractors or in other vehicles to vote to strengthen democracy. Whereas in the tribal dominated area of South Bastar, the weekly market is a part of the life of the villagers. In any circumstances, villagers go to the market, where they purchase daily useful items. But due to voting in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, almost all the weekly markets remained deserted.