Bastar used to go to the polls. Now polls have come to Bastar

For the first time in independent India, residents of 126 villages in Chhattisgarh's left-wing extremism-affected Bastar division got to vote in polling stations in the vicinity of their homes. Until 2018, they had to endure an arduous trek through dense forests, hills and rivers to cast their franchise, while also fearing a backlash from Maoists who would invariably call for a poll boycott. On Tuesday, 20 assembly constituencies in LWE-hit areas of Chhattisgarh and all 40 seats in Mizoram that went to polls recorded a turnout of 71.1% and 77.8% respectively.