Express News Service
RAIPUR: The second and final phase of Chhattisgarh polls in the remaining 70 assembly segments will be held on Friday and the electoral fate of 958 candidates will be decided by 1.63 crore voters. The first phase of polling showed a record voter turnout of 78% on November 7 when the electorates defied the Maoists’ diktat and exercised their right to franchise in 20 seats.
Like in the first phase, the women voters outnumber male electorates in the second phase too. In nearly 30-odd seats, there are prominent leaders in the fray whose prestige remains at stake. They include former and present ministers, four MPs, one Union minister, legislators, office-bearers of the Congress and the BJP. Out of the 70, the Congress holds 52 seats and the BJP won in 13 in the last elections.
The heavyweights in Congress include CM Bhupesh Baghel, his deputy T S Singhdeo, eight ministers and Speaker Charandas Mahant. In the BJP, state president Arun Sao, Union MoS Renuka Singh, MPs Vijay Baghel and Gomti Sai, and MLAs Brijmohan Agrawal and Ajay Chandrakar are in the fray.
While the BJP highlighted the alleged scams, deteriorating law and order, and betrayal of poll promises of the Baghel government, the Congress hopes to gain from its pledges, its slew of welfare schemes for farmers, women, tribals and poor, besides an assurance on caste-census. The majority of OBCs in the state are from the regions going to polls in the second phase.
Among all divisions of the state, Durg remains the high-profile with the CM, four ministers, one Lok Sabha MP and state president of Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-Jogi contesting the polls from the region. The Bilaspur division has the maximum 24 constituencies with Congress having 12 legislators and BJP seven, two seats each won by BSP and JCCJ in the 2018 polls. The BJP has fielded 17 new faces and the Congress 13 candidates.
In tribal-dominated Sarguja division in north Chhattisgarh, where the Congress won all the 14 seats in the last elections, it has repeated 10 candidates. The BJP has fielded 12 new faces. To what extent the smaller parties like BSP, AAP, JCCJ and Hamar Raj are likely to emerge as “spoilers” to the prospects of Congress and BJP remains to be seen but both the parties did face disgruntled leaders.
Despite both the parties having engaged in damage control exercises, there are still six dissidents in BJP and 12 in Congress contesting as rebel candidates. The vote difference between the Congress and the BJP during the 2008 assembly polls was 1.75%, in 2013 it was 0.77% and in 2018 rose to 10.07%.
Congress heavyweight
The heavyweights in Congress include CM Bhupesh Baghel, his deputy T S Singhdeo, eight ministers and Speaker Charandas Mahant. In the BJP, state president Arun Sao, Union MoS Renuka Singh, MPs Vijay Baghel and Gomti Sai, and MLAs Brijmohan Agrawal and Ajay Chandrakar are in the fray
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