IAF choppers made 404 sorties to ferry polling staff in Naxal-hit Bastar during Chhattisgarh 1st phase elections: Official

RAIPUR, Nov 11: The Indian Air Force conducted 404 sorties with eight MI-17 choppers for six days,
ferrying polling parties along with voting machines in Naxal-affected Bastar division during the recently
held first phase of Chhattisgarh polls, a senior election official said on Friday.
Twelve constituencies of Bastar division were among 20 assembly segments in Chhattisgarh that went to
the polls in the first phase on November 7. A high voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded in these 20
seats.
The Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer wrote on X on Friday, “Defying all challenges, the Indian Air
Force (IAF) conducted 404 sorties with Eight MI 17s, securely ferrying 853 polling team members to and
from 43 locations, enabling a successful electoral process in a tough LWE-affected region. Salute to the
India Air Force.”
More than 860 polling party members were sent through MI-17 helicopters to 156 polling stations in
five districts of Bastar division – Sukma, Bijapur, Kanker, Dantewada and Narayanpur – from November
4 to 6 for voting on November 7, Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P told PTI.
After the voting, all the presiding officers along with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and members of
the polling teams were brought back to the respective district headquarters in a phased manner over
the next three days. The evacuation exercise was completed by November 9 evening, he said.
As per the pre-determined action plan, arrangements were made by the local administration or police or
security forces to accommodate the polling personnel in nearby security camps and other appropriate
places during polls, he said.
The IG expressed his gratitude to the IAF for its 6-day-long effort to ensure the smooth conduct of the
polls.
There have been several instances of Naxalites firing on helicopters in Bastar, Dantewada and Sukma
districts of the region in the past.
In the 2008 assembly elections, Naxalites fired on an IAF chopper soon after it took off from Pedia
village in Bijapur with voting machines and personnel. Flight engineer sergeant Mustafa Ali was killed in
the cockpit in the attack. The aircraft’s captain, squadron leader T K Choudhary, managed to take off
despite bullets partially damaging the chopper’s rotorcraft and landed in Jagdalpur.
The remaining 70 of the total 90 assembly seats in the state will go to polls in the second phase on
November 17. (PTI)