Bastar to vote in shadow of terror

"The terror angle has played big on minds of Bastar candidates.

Except Sori, all candidates restricted their electioneering either to urban areas or the tribal settlements close to main roads as they lacked guts to enter vast forested belt for campaigning where rebels can strike at will," a top official at State Intelligence Bureau told IANS.

The official said that Sori, who had a fair idea of Bastar interiors, roamed freely for campaigning, mainly in Bijapur district.

The Bastar constituency has witnessed a string of deadly attacks in recent years and the Maoists, who are believed to have rocket launchers too, have targeted poll-duty choppers in past.

The Bastar constitguency, which is made up of six assembly segments, has more female voters at 665,290 than 633,681 male voters.