In village of dreaded Maoist leader in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, residents stay away from voting

Residents defy Maoist poll boycott in Chhattisgarh's Bastar, but Puvarti village, home of Naxal leader, abstains from voting

While the residents of several remote villages in Chhattisgarh's Bastar Lok Sabha constituency defied the poll boycott call given by Maoists and exercised their franchise on April 19, people from Puvarti village, the native place of a hardcore Naxalite leader, chose to stay away from the electoral process.

Puvarti, a Maoist-stronghold in Sukma district bordering Bijapur district, is the home village of dreaded Naxalite leader Hidma, who is believed to be the mastermind of several deadly attacks on security forces in Bastar region.

Polling was held in the Bastar Lok Sabha seat on April 19 and a voter turnout of 67.56% was recorded there.

"No voters from Puvarti village exercised their voting right during polling on Friday," Booth Level Officer [BLO] of Puvarti polling booth Java Patel told PTI.

Some officials said the villagers did not cast their vote out of fear.

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The Puvarti polling booth (No. 4), meant for voters of three villages — Puvarti, Tekalgudiyam and Jonaguda — was set up in Silger village, around 20-25 kms away from Puvarti.