Voters are excited about voting in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, long queues have started forming since 5 am in the morning.

In the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, people are showing tremendous enthusiasm for voting. In both rural and urban areas, voters have been lining up since 5 AM to cast their votes. The voting process has begun smoothly without any reported issues with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

There is a remarkable level of excitement among the rural population regarding voting. Election officials have conducted mock polls at all polling stations, ensuring that everything is in order. The BJP candidate, Mahesh Kashyap, will cast his vote at his hometown’s government primary school, while the Congress candidate, Kawasi Lakhma, will vote at Nagaras Primary School in Sukma district.

Election authorities have made adequate arrangements at all polling centers, including the provision of tents and drinking water, considering the hot weather conditions. Similar to the state assembly elections, the enthusiasm of rural voters is evident in the Bastar Lok Sabha elections.

There are a total of 1,957 polling centers set up across the Bastar parliamentary constituency. Among these, around 600 are considered sensitive or hyper-sensitive polling stations. Additionally, there are approximately 400 centers in Naxal-affected areas and 220 in politically sensitive locations. Moreover, 97 model polling stations have been set up following the pattern of assembly elections, where only women voters, women polling staff, and women security personnel are deployed.

In Jagdalpur city, 125 polling centers have been manned solely by women polling staff. Furthermore, there are 8 polling centers designated for differently-abled voters and 31 youth polling centers. All 234 polling centers have been shifted to secure locations.

The total number of eligible voters in the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency is 1,466,337. Among them, 46777 young voters aged 18 to 19 are casting their votes for the first time. There are 698197 male voters and 76888 female voters. Voting will take place from 7 AM to 5 PM in all three assembly constituencies of Bastar district, and in Kondagaon from 7 AM to 5 PM, and in Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, and Narayanpur from 7 AM to 3 PM.