Nomination withdrawal ends in Chhattisgarh; 223 candidates in 1st phase

Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: The total number of electors in 20 seats in the first phase is 40,78,681, comprising 19,93,937 male, 20,84,675 female and 69 third gender

A total of 223 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, comprising 20 seats, after the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers ended on Monday.

The candidates include state Congress chief Deepak Baij, former chief minister, and Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Raman Singh. The polls to 20 seats in seven Naxalite-affected districts in Bastar division and four other districts will take place on November 7.

"A total of 294 candidates had filed their nominations for the first phase. Of these, papers of 253 were found valid after scrutiny. Of them, 30 candidates withdrew their nomination on Monday, leaving 223 in the fray," a statement from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.

The first phase of voting in Chhattisgarh will cover Antagarh (ST), Bhanupratappur (ST), Kanker (ST), Kondagaon (ST), Narayanpur (ST), Bastar (ST), Jagdalpur, Keshkal (ST), Chitrakot (ST), Dantewada (ST), Bijapur (ST), Konta (ST), Khairagarh, Dongargarh (SC), Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur (ST), Kawardha, and Pandariya seats. The highest number of contestants are in the Rajnandgaon constituency (29), while the lowest number of candidates is seven each in Chitrakot and Dantewada seats.

Among the prominent candidates in the first phase of the Assembly elections include state Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakot), ministers Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Mohan Markam (Kondagaon) and Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha), and Chhavindra Karma.

For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the first phase, the key candidates include former chief minister Raman Singh (Rajnandgaon) and four former state ministers Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur), Lata Usendi (Kondagaon), Vikram Usendi (Antagarh) and Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), and former IAS officer Neelkanth Tekam (Keshkal). The Congress party has fielded its senior OBC leader and chairman of Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation, Girish Dewangan, against Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state unit chief Komal Hupendi will contest from the Bhanupratappur seat. Congress MLA Anup Nag, who was denied a ticket by the party, is contesting as an Independent from the Antagarh seat.

According to officials, the total number of electors in these 20 seats is 4,078,681, comprising 1,993,937 males, 2,084,675 females and 69 third gender. A total of 5,304 polling stations have been set up for the first phase.