Chitrakot bypoll: BJP's Kashyap to take on Cong's Benzam

The BJP on Sunday announced the name of Lachhuram Kashyap as its candidate for the Chitrakot Assembly bypoll to be held on October 21.

The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MLA Deepak Baij was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bastar constituency.

Kashyap, an MLA from 2003-08, lost to Baij in the 2018 Assembly polls from Chitrakot by a margin of 17,770 votes.

"Kashyap's name was finalised for Chitrakot bypoll by the BJP's Central Election Committee on Sunday in New Delhi," a Chattisgarh BJP spokesperson said here.

He is pitted against the Congress's Rajman Benzam, a new face, and both candidates are expected to file their nominations on Monday.

Congress spokesperson RP Singh said his party was confident of retaining Chitrakot as people are happy with the work of the Bhupesh Baghel government, and cited the victory in Dantewada Assembly bypoll, the result of which was declared on September 27, to back his assertion.

The Congress' Devti Karma had won the Dantewada bypoll by defeating the BJP's Ojaswi Mandavi by a margin of 11,192 votes.

BJP state unit chief Vikram Usendi, however, said the Dantewada result would have no bearing on that of Chitrakot, claiming his party was poised to win.