Chhattisgarh Elections: Over 60 per cent voting recorded in 15 urban bodies polls; counting on Dec 23

Raipur, Dec 20: Around 60 per cent voter turnout has been registered in the local body elections in Chhattisgarh on Monday. The polling ended peacefully amid tight security.

The polls were held in four municipal corporations, five municipal councils and six nagar panchayats to elect representatives in 370 wards where a contest where Congress and BJP nominees were locked in a battle of supremacy along with Independents and other candidates.

The elections were held in Birgaon (Raipur district), Bhilai (Durg), Risali (Durg), Bhilai-Charauda (Durg) - all municipal corporations - Khairagarh (Rajnandgaon), Baikunthpur (Korea), Shivpurcharcha (Korea), Sarangarh (Raigarh) and Jamul (Durg) - all municipal councils - and Bhairamgarh (Bijapur), Bhopalpatnam (Bijapur), Narharpur (Kanker), Maro (Bemetara), Prem Nagar (Surajpur) and Konta (Sukma) -all nagar panchayats. Apart from the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, a large number of Independents and rebel candidates were also in the fray.

However, the voting figure is provisional and it might go up, he said. All eyes are on Durg, the home district of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, where three civic corporations and one municipal council went to polls. Besides these 15 urban bodies, bypolls were held in 15 wards of 13 civic bodies where voter turnout was 64.85 per cent, Singh added.

Some of the areas where polling took place are located in Naxal-hit districts. "No untoward incident was reported from any polling station where voting was held from 8 am to 5 pm. The voting process was by and large peaceful.

Polling parties have started returning to the strong room in their respective areas to submit ballot boxes," he added. The fate of 1,393 candidates was locked in the ballot boxes and results will be announced on December 23. The polls to the 15 urban bodies were held to elect 370 ward corporators. As many as 8,04,187 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise at 1,035 booths.

Around 4,000 security personnel were deployed to ensure peaceful polling, while about 12,000 government officers and employees were roped in for election duty.

Healthcare personnel were also deployed at all polling stations to deal with any situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic. PTI