Chhattisgarh Assembly polls: Rahul Gandhi to campaign in state on Oct 28-29

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address rallies in Kanker, Rajnandgaon, and Bhanupratapur on October 28, and will address a rally in Kawardha on October 29

Ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign in the state on October 28 and 29.

Gandhi will address rallies in Kanker, Rajnandgaon, and Bhanupratapur on October 28, and will address a rally in Kawardha on October 29.

The Congress has fielded Shankar Dhruv from Kanker (ST) seat, Girish Devangan from Rajnandgaon, and Savitri Mandavi from Bhanupratappur (ST).

The Congress on Sunday announced the third and final list of seven candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls. The list had names of seven candidates, including Ambica Singh Deo from Baikunth, Chaturi Nand from Saraipali, Rashmi Chandrakar from Mahasamund, Sandeep Sahu from Kasdol, Kuldeep Juneja from Raipur City North, Ambika Markam from Sihawa, and Omkar Sahu from Dhamtari.

The ruling party in the state has announced the names of 90 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh. Ambika Soni is the niece of Ram Singh Deo, a six-time MLA in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Kuldeep Juneja is the only Sikh candidate fielded by the Congress in this election.

In the first list of 30 candidates, the Congress had fielded Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from Patan. Senior Congress leader and deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo will contest from Ambikapur.

In its second list of 53 candidates, the party fielded Chhaya Verma, a former member of the Rajya Sabha, from Dharsiwa seat, while Arun Vora, son of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Motilal Vora, has been given a ticket from Durg City.

Women commandos in Bastar

The state government will deploy women commandos at 35 polling stations in the Maoist-hit Bastar division on November 7.

The women commandos of Bastar Fighters will be deployed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Bastar district. The CRPF plans to recruit locals for highly sensitive areas with a special emphasis on women. The recruited "Mahila commandos" have undergone training before deployment in districts such as Sukma, Bastar, Dantewada, and Bijapur. One booth will be under the watch of transgender cops.

The women commandos of Bastar Fighters will be deployed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Bastar district. The CRPF plans to recruit locals for highly sensitive areas with a special emphasis on women. The recruited "Mahila commandos" have undergone training before deployment in districts such as Sukma, Bastar, Dantewada, and Bijapur. One booth will be under the watch of transgender cops.

Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.