Chhattisgarh: Chandameta in Bastar steps out of Naxal shadow, votes for first time since Independence

Bastar (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 19 : Just days after security forces recorded one of their biggest successes in the anti-Naxal operations in the state, gunning down 29 Naxals in Bastar, a hub of Red Terror in the not-so-distant past; Chandameta, a village in the insurgency-hit district made history on Friday as it saw Lok Sabha elections for the first time since Independence.
Once considered a stronghold of Naxals, the village comprising 325 registered voters, including 162 women, voted for the first time to elect a Lok Sabha candidate.
Significantly, the setting up of a camp by the security personnel at Chandameta gave the dwellers confidence in their safety as they stepped out to exercise their democratic right without fear.
Amid heavy security deployment, the residents of Chandameta, as well as people from a few neighbouring villages, got their fingers inked.
As polling culminated at 3 pm, security personnel were seen escorting the on-duty polling officials, along with EVMs, safely back to base.
Earlier, on Friday, Bastar Inspector General of Police (IG) P Sundarraj said people were seen reaching and queuing up outside polling booths with full enthusiasm and confidence as a three-layer security cordon was thrown around them.
Bastar was the only one of the state's 11 Lok Sabha constituencies that polled on the opening phase of the general elections on Friday.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, IG P Sundarraj said, "Robust and safe polling is being conducted in Baster in the first phase of the general elections today. Locals are arriving and queuing up outside polling booths with absolute confidence and without fear. Three-layered security arrangements were made in the area and additional forces were also put on standby. In border areas, special forces from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha helped us maintain security."
The remaining seats in the state will go to polls on April 26 and May 7.
The BJP won 9 of the 11 seats in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha, while the Congress had to settle for just 2, including Bastar. Deepak Baij of the Congress party emerged victorious in Bastar.
Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7 am.
According to the data released by the Election Commission (EC), a total of 1.87 lakh polling stations were put together for the opening phase, while 18 lakh security personnel were deployed across the 102 constituencies going to polls.