Chhattisgarh Assembly polls: 70 percent turnout recorded in first phase, says Election Commission

New Delhi: Seventy percent voter turnout was registered in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, the Election Commission (EC) said Monday.The turnout was likely to go up as the final figures were yet to be received, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said.In the first phase, voting was held in 18 of the 90 Assembly seats in Chhattisgarh.Till 5.30 pm, the overall voter turnout was 58.55 percent, the EC said.Giving the break up, the poll panel said a voter turnout of 61.47 per cent was recorded in Kondagaon, 63.51 percent in Keshkal, 62 percent in Kanker, 58 percent in Bastar, 49 percent in Dantewada, 70.14 percent in Khairagarh, 71 percent in Dongargarh, 71 percent in Dongargaon and 72 percent in the Khujji constituency.Of the 18 seats, 12 were reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and one was for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.The second phase of polling in 72 seats will be held on 20 November and the results will be announced on 11 December.