Chhattisgarh: Sharp Difference in Polling Percentage in 1st Phase Spurs Doubts

Raipur: While the Election Commission (EC) is claiming that the 70% votes were polled in the first phase of Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, the state wing of the poll watchdog says otherwise. The official press release of the state EC says that the the polling percentage in 18 constituencies – which went to polls on November 12 – stood at 60.49%.

In the first press statement, the state EC gave a booth-wise break-up of polling that took place in the first phase. According the poll panel, the voting percentage in three constituencies of Bastar and five constituencies of Rajnandgaon remained better (above 70%, except Jagdalpur that recorded 65% polling) than in Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Dantewara, Rajnandgaon, Kondagaon and Sukma. The total voting percentage here was recorded at 52%.

The state’s EC press note is based on the final report provided by each presiding officer. Out of 18 constituencies, the votes were polled in 10 constituencies from 7 a.m till 3 p.m and from 8 a.m till 5 p.m in the rest eight constituencies.

Surprisingly, after the Election Commission of India contradicted the report of its state wing and went on to add that the first phase recorded 70% polling, the Chhattisgarh EC issued a revised press statement, adding that the average voting percentage in the first phase stood at 76.28%.

This is despite the fact that several villages boycotted the polls in the wake of threat issued by Maoists and long distances between polling booths and villages.

The officers in the Election Commission of India could not be reached for comment on the difference in the polling percentage figures.     

Mohan K (name changed on request), a resident of a Maoist-affected village in Kanker district, said none of the people in his village stepped out to vote due to “fear of Naxals”.

“To avoid zero voting, the security persons themselves came to the village and took four people with them to cast the vote. This was the scene in all polling booths of my village,” he told Newsclick.

Bela Bhatia, a Bastar-based independent writer and researcher, said the difference in the polling percentage “emboldens the allegation of rigging” and one needs to check this happened.

“Before jumping to any conclusion, it needs to be checked whether or not those who – according to records – have voted have actually cast their votes. In many Maoists-affected areas, people could not vote because of several reasons such as Maoists threat, unavailability of election identity card, etc.,” she said.

Many leaders in the state too had earlier expressed apprehension that rigging could take place at at least 12 of the 18 Assembly constituencies where polling took place in the first phase.

The difference in poll percentage has, meanwhile, spurred rumours about possible rigging.

Sharing a report on the alleged rigging, published by a news portal (www.cgrise.com), a Twitter user Vivek Tankha wrote, “The BJP is trying to play a big game in the Bastar election....”, urging the bureaucracy to protect democracy not let the election fall under doubt.

बस्तर चुनाव के लिए बीजेपी कर रही है बड़े खेल की तैयारी? – CG राइज डॉट कॉम CG के नौकर साही से प्रार्थना करता हुँ हमारे प्रजातंत्र की रक्षा करिए। कलांगकत मात होने देना। https://t.co/zC5WEw5ar4

— Vivek Tankha (@VTankha) 11 November 2018

The report, published four days ago, also alleged that two district collectors of  Bastar division had “instructed the polling parties not to seal the EVMs reaching the district headquarters after the polling completes”.

It  further alleged that “security forces deployed in the region are under extreme pressure to ensure fake voting”.      

Chhattisgarh State Congress Committee Bhupesh Baghel, who represents Patan constituency, commented on Twitter on November 12 that, “The administration has tried to influence the voting process....”

प्रशासनिक मशीनरी की तरफ से गड़बड़ी करने की कोशिशें हुई हैं। नक्सलियों ने भी वारदातें की, इसके बावजूद लोगों ने मतदान के लिए उत्साह दिखाया। इसके लिए सभी मतदाताओं का आभार। बस्तर और राजनांदगांव के लोगों ने सरकार बदलने के लिए मतदान किया है। इस बार हम राजनांदगांव की सीट भी जीत रहे हैं।

— Bhupesh Baghel (@Bhupesh_Baghel) 13 November 2018

Quoting some anonymous bureaucrats, the news report claimed that the officers concerned had made preparations in such a way that all votes go in favour of the ruling BJP post afternoon at all booths in 12 constituencies in Bastar. 

Retweeting a tweet by senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who had written on the basis of the same news report, that “...reports from Chhattisgarh suggest that even polling officers have not reached remote polling booths in Bastar as polling starts. BJP seems to be planning to use security forces & district administration to capture booths & cast bogus votes!”, senior Congress Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia tweeted, “People will frustrate all nefarious efforts of BJP in Chhattisgarh.”

BJP in desperation has decided to #MurderDemocracy. Senior bureaucrats leak information of massive planned rigging of all remote booths in Bastar through govt machinery.@INCIndia @INCChhattisgarh @RahulGandhi @rssurjewala @IndianExpress

— P L Punia (@plpunia) 11 November 2018

Meanwhile, voter turnout also nosedived in Maoist-infested Bastar division in comparison to the turnout in the 2013 polls. The same region witnessed 75.53% turnout in the previous Assembly elections.

Senior BBC journalist Alok Prakash Putul says that the polling figures are really discouraging because a lot of bragging was done over election awareness.

“As per my knowledge, there could be various factors behind the fall in polling percentage. There were complaints that the EVM malfunctioned at many polling booths and we really do not know how much time the election commission take to change them, while Maoists are claiming that the forces did not reach the sensitive zones along with the polling parties. This factor should not be ignored,” he said.

The senior journalist further said that voter turnout should have increased in comparison with the last elections if votes were polled at the centre where zero votes were polled last time, and the numbers could change a bit because it takes some time for the polling parties to return to the office from the spot.

Putul pointed out that this was an overall failure of the state machinery, as so much money was spent on election awareness programmes and other things.

Meanwhile, the district collectors and returning officers declined to comment on the lower voting percentage by saying that Election Commission will answer these queries.

Around 800 voters from the Aamapani, which falls in the Kanker Assembly constituency, boycotted the vote as their polling camp was shifted seven kilometers away from their village.

Tameshwar Sinha, a stringer with a local daily who was present on the spot, says that the villagers were in the mood to vote and were sitting in a tent and asking the security and the election commission personnel to make a polling station near their village, but their demand was refused. As a result,  not a single person from that village voted.