Chhattisgarh Elections: 1,219 Candidates File Nominations for Second Phase of Voting in 70 Seats
GG News Bureau
Raipur, 31st Oct. 1,219 candidates have filed nominations for the 70 constituencies that will vote in the second round of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections on November 17, according to poll officials.
The deadline for submitting nominations for the second round of voting was Monday.
The first phase of voting for 20 of the state’s 90 assembly seats will take place on November 7.
A total of 1,219 candidates have filed 1,985 nomination papers for the second phase of voting, which will be scrutinized on Tuesday, according to a statement published by the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
The deadline for withdrawing nominations is November 2.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo, their eight cabinet colleagues, and state assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant are among the major Congress contenders in the second round.
The BJP’s prominent candidates for this round include state BJP chief Arun Sao, assembly leader Narayan Chandel, former ministers and sitting MLAs Brijmohan Agarwal, Punnulal Mohile, and Ajay Chandrakar, as well as three incumbent Lok Sabha members, including a Union minister.
The race for the Patan Lok Sabha seat in the second phase of voting will be closely observed as CM Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress takes against his nephew and BJP contender Vijay Baghel, the Lok Sabha member from Durg.
The inclusion of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) state president Amit Jogi, son of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, from Patan, has given the fight a new dimension.
Deputy Chief Minister Singh Deo is running against BJP candidate Rajesh Agrawal in the high-profile Ambikapur seat.
The Congress has fielded Mahant Ram Sundar Das of the Dudhadhari Math against BJP strongman Brijmohan Agrawal in Raipur South.
The second phase of voting would take place in 70 constituencies across 22 districts in the state.
There are 223 people running in the 20 other constituencies where voting will take place in the first phase.
Of the 70 seats up for grabs in the second phase, 17 are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates and nine for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
The Congress won 51 of the 70 seats in the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP 13, the JCC (J), and the Bahujan Samaj Party 2.
By-elections later gave the Congress one extra seat.
The Congress won a huge victory in the 2018 elections, taking 68 seats and easily forming the government. The BJP lost 15 seats, while the JCC (J) and the BSP gained 5 and 2, respectively.
The state legislature currently has 71 members.
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