<span style="color: #222222;">In Chhattisgarh, the first phase of the three-tier panchayat election is being held today. In the first phase, more than 61 lakh voters from 4, 847 Gram panchayats will exercise their franchise. Votes will be cast for 42, 404 posts. <br />''<br />''12,572 polling stations have been set up for the first phase of polling. For this, 80 thousand polling personnel and 976 sector officers have been deployed. Polling in Maoist-affected areas will be held till 2 pm while in other parts it will end at 3 pm. Counting will take place an hour after the vote. <br />''<br />''The Panchayat elections in Chhattisgarh are to be held in three phases. Second and third phase voting will be held on January 31 and February 3.</span><br />''<br />