EC offers fresh voting in Maoist area of Maharashtra

New Delhi, Oct 13 : People in 22 polling stations in the Maoist-affected areas of Maharashtra, where poll officials could not reach Tuesday, will be given another opportunity to vote, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla said here.

Chawla said the polling was "very satisfactory" and the "morale was extremely" high in the Maoist-hit polling stations in Maharashtra.

"Apart from two people dying of a heart attack, there is no casualty," Chawla told reporters after the polling concluded in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

He said there was an incident of firing in a Maoist-affected polling station in Maharashtra in the morning, but it did not affect the polling.

"There was an incident of firing after the polling in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Helicopters have been sent for the transportation of the polling officials," Chawla said.

He specially thanked the district magistrate and the superintendent of police of Gadchiroli for effectively managing the poll.

The commission said the polling percent in Maoist-affected Gadchiroli was 55 percent and in adjoining Gondia it was 68 percent.

"We will continue to monitor the situation till the polling parties reach the basement," Chawla said and added that the commission was concerned about their safety.

--IANS