KOLKATA: In a first in State Assembly election history, Raipur North’s constituency in Chhattisgarh had all of its polling booths managed by female personnel on Friday.
“These all-women managed polling booths provided a sense of comfort and security for all voters, especially the female and third gender voters for more inclusive election” said an Election Commission of India official. The polling booths were deployed with 1046 women across the 201 polling booths in the constituency.
All-women managed polling stations were not just seen in Raipur North but also across the state during the second phase with around 700 of them being managed by female personnel, while 70 were managed by the Public Works Department. Around 350 model polling stations were also set up, including special theme-based polling stations for tribal communities.
Update: Chattisgarh records 68.15%, while Madhya Pradesh leads at 71.26%. Counting is underway, stay tuned for more updates.#ChhattisgarhElections2023 #MadhyaPradeshElection2023
Reports: @joymalabagchi https://t.co/37GXXlMhAQ
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 17, 2023
According to the latest ECI data, the state witnessed a voter turnout of 68.15 per cent across the 70 constituencies, while Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtri district witnessed the highest voter turnout at 79.89 per cent.
On the other hand, the capital city of Raipur witnessed the lowest voter turnout at 58.33 per cent.
The second phase of the elections saw numerous heavyweights from Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress party casting their votes in their respective constituencies, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Alongside the CM, Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, Deputy CM TS Singh Deo, state assembly speaker Charandas Mahant, state ministers Ravindra Choubey, Anila Bhedia, Amarjeet Bhagat and Jaisingh Agrawal also cast their vote during this phase.
FLASH: As of the latest ECI data, #ChhattisgarhElections2023 has recorded a 68.15% voter turnout, while #MadhyaPradeshElection2023 has recorded 71.26% voter turnout.
Reports @joymalabagchi
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 17, 2023
Moreover, BJP’s possible CM face, Arun Sao, the Lok Sabha MP from Lormi, union minister Renuka Singh and former CM Raman Singh also cast their vote during the Phase-II of the elections.
In 2018, the state had seen Congress claiming 17 of the 20 constituencies in the first phase of the Assembly elections.
Chhattisgarh had gone for its first phase of elections in 20 constituencies on November 7.
Alongside the state, four other states have also gone for their assembly elections including Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Telangana and Rajasthan. The results of all the states are slated to be released on December 3.