Notification issued for phase 1 of Chhattisgarh Assy poll

Raipur, Oct 19 (UNI) The election process for the first phase of Assembly polls in 39 constituencies in Chhattisgarh got underway today with Governor E S L Narasimhan issuing the notification.

November 14 is polling day for phase one and November 20 for the remaining 51 seats.

These are the second Assembly hustings in this tribal-dominated state that came into existence after Madhya Pradesh's bifurcation in November 2000.

Filing of nominations would take place till October 27 while scrutiny on October 29 and October 31 would be the last date for withdrawal of candidature.

State Deputy Election Officer R D Diwan told UNI that the first-phase polls would be held in Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Durg, Kabirdham, Kanker, Bastar, Naryanpur, Rajnandgaon, Dantewada and Bijapur districts that include some naxalism-affected ones.

The Election Commission is conducting the polls in two phases for the first time to ensure peaceful voting by deploying adequate number of paramilitary forces in insurgency-affected areas.

Twelve Central Reserve Police Force constables were killed and ten injured, two severely, when ultras triggered landmines and opened fire on them in Bijapur's Bhopalpatnam area today, police said.

''Preparations for filing nomination papers are complete and all related orders have been issued,'' said Mr Diwan.

Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress are yet to announce their candidates' lists.

UNI Team-AC RP HT1630